The trust a little child has in its mother or father is a delight to behold. I recall a father in a swimming pool encouraging his little one to jump into the water. "Daddy will catch you," he said - and he did. The little child was a little hesitant, but squealed with delight when dad was there. The Bible tells us the man is cursed who trusts in man, and blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord (Jer. 17:5-8). It behooves us to take a good look at what the scripture is telling us. We cannot grow up to be adults without periods of complete trust towards somebody. Our parents to begin with, and later on our family and friends make a group in whom we have shown trust all of our lives. We trust our school teachers and we trust advisors to give us proper and good advice. We ask doctors what to do when we are sick and we trust in their advice and treatment. When necessary, we allow ourselves to be anesthetized so that a trained doctor can operate on our body - we trust that he will not make a mistake and remove a kidney instead of an appendix. We hold our mouths open so the dentist can drill - and drill. Since it is not possible to live without some trust towards another human being, what did God mean in Jeremiah 17? Does God mean we should be suspicious towards everyone? How are we to understand without a teacher as the Eunuch asked (Acts 8:31), and how do we know that the teacher is true?
One point becomes clear as we consider our lives and also contemplate the spiritual aspect of what we are. Trust toward humans and trust towards God, are combined and yet separate. We do need to trust humans, but there is always a little (or a lot) of reservation in that trust. We do need to trust God without reservation, but with wisdom and understanding. Job was in deep trouble and his life was in danger, but he understood that trusting God had no boundaries - not even death (Job. 13:15). Sorting out the difference and making good decisions is what maturity is all about (Prov. 28:25,26).
There are a number of scriptures that indicate that we can and ought to trust in other human beings. Prov. 31:11 is one example which explains that we can trust our marriage partners. Experience in the story of mankind also shows us that this trust has often been broken, but not always. There have been many, many accounts of humans being trustworthy and fulfilling their responsibilities to those who trusted them. There are great and heroic tales of humans who have put their complete trust in a stranger or another person - and that trust has not been broken to the point of death.
It is in areas where there is a danger of us departing from the advice and direction Almighty God gives that our trust is not to be in blindly following the direction of a person. The danger is in those who cause our heart to depart from God. Adam and Eve trusted in the words of the serpent in the garden and acted as he directed. In spiritual matters, only God can be trusted. Yet, God clearly tells us that He puts humans in charge of teaching, administering and nourishing the church (Eph. 4:11,12). We do rely on humans for spiritual guidance, but God gave us the Holy Scriptures to serve as a verification. God has not left mankind blind in this matter - that is, He has not illuminated everybody, but He has shed the light of understanding on those He has chosen at the moment - and will shed that light on all of mankind according to His determined time schedule. Psalm 40:4 boldly states that the man who makes the Lord his trust is blessed.
A well-known quote from long ago stated: "Put your trust in God, but keep your powder dry." King David was a brave warrior, but knew the connection between facing his enemies and trusting in God (Psalm 18:1-6). We humans sometimes confuse trusting in God with not acting or simply waiting for God to solve a problem for us. There are many examples of true followers of God who understood that trusting God and acting went hand in hand. The shepherd boy David, when confronted by Goliath who had stymied the whole army of Israel, spoke of his trust in God while he was gathering the five stones that he would use in his sling for the battle with Goliath. Yet, that same David proved untrustworthy to his faithful general Uriah (2 Sam. 11:15). Daniel and his friends also knew that trusting God meant denying the command of the king - they acted (Dan. 3:15-18). Psalm 44:6-8 reflects the trust in God for true deliverance - versus trusting in one's bow or sword for deliverance. It is not to be construed that one ought never to take something for defense, but the strength of meaning lies in putting all of our trust in God. Some years ago, a wise man stated that we humans should work with all of our might as though every success depends on the actions of our hands, all the while praying with all of our might as though that success depends only on the intervention and action of God.
Paul wrote that we ought not to trust in riches (I Tim. 6:17). God gives riches and all things to enjoy - our trust passes over the riches to the great Giver of all - the Almighty God. He does give riches and the strength and ability to possess, but when a person forgets what is behind those physical gifts, he becomes the great loser. There is also a danger of a person trusting in their own interpretation of God's will (Luke 18:9). Rather than search to find out what God tells us He values, people can convince themselves that what they do is pleasing to God. That too is an area of self-deception. We cannot trust in ourselves, because we are also filled with desires, fears, beliefs, errors and self-serving plans and ideas that can blur our judgment (Jer. 17:9). We need to rely on God to show us the truth - and when He does, we need to be able to accept that truth and act on it. That is the really huge problem we humans face - knowing truth and living by it.
God has not left mankind blind to the whims of leaders. He has selected special leaders for His work - just as He did the twelve apostles. More importantly, though, God has expended a great deal of time and effort to ensure that the Holy Scriptures would be preserved and given to His people as a guide. It is against the truth stated in the pages of the Bible that we are indeed able to determine whether or not we are getting God's information or that of a human. "If they speak not according to this word …… (Isa. 8:20). The Bible compliments the Bereans for searching the scripture for truth (Acts 17:10,11). It is true that the Bible was not written for every person to understand. It is written in such a way that people can indeed study, and yet fail in their understanding (Isa. 28:13). We may wonder why God inspired the Bible to be written so truth is hidden - even the followers of Jesus Christ were puzzled at His teaching using parables. The disciples were given the special privilege of understanding, but others were not given that understanding (Matt. 13:10,11). God wants all to be saved, but He knows the hearts and minds of each person so completely, that He can time His calling to give the greatest opportunity for success. God wants humans to succeed in receiving the free gift salvation (Rom. 5:8-11).
We humans are left with the necessity of trusting other human beings who may be fallible. That means that from time to time we will be disappointed and hurt. God knows that and He expects us to accept that condition. Adversity is something that even Jesus Christ endured. He was "perfected" by what He suffered (Heb. 2:10).
The trust we place in God must be complete. "In thee will I trust" (Ps. 40:4). He will see us through every trial life has to offer - including the times humans fail us. We too may have failed in the trust people have placed in us. It is a point of character to be trustworthy. If we are weak in that area, we can become better. We can become a person of character - a child of God. God is a loving Father and His every effort is for our wellbeing. We need to heed His instructions and make changes. Jesus Christ demanded it when He addressed the churches in Rev. 2 and 3. We need to choose to be like Him.