Thought for the day.

Trust is the emotional glue that draws us closer to our friends, our family, and our small groups. Without trust, we’re never going to have the intimate relationship that God wants us to have. The truth is that teamwork without trust is impossible.
Proverbs 20:6 says, “Many people claim to be loyal, but it is hard to find a trustworthy person” (NCV). That was written thousands of years ago, and yet we have the same dilemma today: Who do we trust? How do we find a trustworthy person?

An important question to ask ourselves is, “how do we become a trustworthy person so that people trust us?”

We earn peoples trust by:
1. Being consistent.
The Bible says in Luke 16:10, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” (NIV). Today everybody wants to serve God in the obvious and showy ways. But God says we build trust by being faithful in little things. Even when no one is watching us, God is. He sees what we’re doing. And He says that if we’re faithful in little things, He will give us greater and greater responsibility.
2. Being trustworthy.
People trust us when we can keep information confidential. One of the most important rules for small groups is that what is said in the group stays in the group. The group trusts us to keep private whatever they share. Proverbs 11:13 says, “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret” (NIV).
3. Being close.
We have to spend time with people in order to earn their trust. The Bible says, “Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble” (Proverbs 17:17 The Message).
That implies proximity. Distance creates distrust. The fact is that we don’t trust people we don’t know. So if we want people to trust us,we’ve got to spend time with them. Time creates trust.

Erick Bouwmeester
#lovebeyondchurch
#lovebeyondwordsministry
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