The principal of trust has always been fundamental in our relationships with others. We often tell people that we will trust them until they prove otherwise. Trust is seen to be the foundation of all healthy relationships. The sad truth is that in the world today society has become very distrusting and suspicious of one another. The way of the world is to expect the worse from people and to prepare for a breach of trust in all situations. In the business world we enter into contracts that contain breach clauses and when we get married we have prenuptial agreements which prepare for circumstances where there is irretrievable breakdown of the matrimonial regime.
However when we take a close look at the church we can see, in many instances, that the conduct of the church is not very different to that of the world. We have a body of believers that don’t trust each other and are downright suspicious of each other’s motives. They disguise this suspicion and mistrust up as “discernment”. Whilst it is extremely important to be discerning of people and their motives we are not meant to think the worst of people and believe that they are out to do us a dirty in some form or fashion.
As followers of Christ we are called to walk at a higher standard of trust with one another. We should always believe and expect the best from our fellow brothers and sisters. Our attitude should not be one where we expect and declare the worst about each other. A spirit of distrust in the church creates disunity and divisiveness and where we allow this we see all kinds of evil abound. This is not the way Jesus views people as He always expects the best of us and from us. He clearly tells us that the plans He has for us are to prosper us and not to harm us, plans of a hope and a future.
Erick Bouwmeester
#lovebeyondchurch
#lovebeyondwordsministry
#lovebeyondwords