TRUST
I want to ask everyone a simple yet complicated question. Who do you trust without reservation? Who can you place your total faith in knowing that they are always with you? Now you can't say Jesus Christ or God because few believe that anyway. That is one of those things we say we believe, but the truth is that we have more faith and trust in ourselves than in God. Go ahead give it a shot and see what you come up with.
I want to raise the stakes just a bit and see where we can take this. What can destroy that faith or trust to the point that you will never allow it to return? Going farther, can anyone place their total faith and trust in you?
I address this for a simple reason. We are all concupiscent beings, which means we have a tendency to sin. No one is perfect including you. We tend to elevate people on a pedestal that they cannot stay on, yet when they fall we tear the pedestal down and beat them with it. Now that same measure we hope would not be used against us because HEY, we are human remember.
It pains me to no end to see people that have given so much to have society including friends, neighbors, and family kick them when they are down. The worse thing about this is most people do not even realize they do it.
Trust is earned, as is respect. Trust can be broken and when it is, how can it be restored? That is really the message here. When we fail, how can we be made whole in our sphere of influence? For the true blue Christians I ask this, what about Peter, the man who denied Christ three times? He lied; he did not know who the man was, or so he said. Jesus forgave him and then allowed him to lead the early Christian movement. Had Jesus have measured his trust the way we do, Christianity would have been lost then and there. Keep in mind that Peter did not have much time to restore his trust, Jesus was about to be crucified.
To make this part of the story palatable we can always say that since Jesus was God, he knew the heart of Peter and that is not a characteristic we have. OR IS IT?
Think about this; when a prisoner is released, with excitement he or she is ready to get back to society and prove they are worthy of a second chance. That excitement wanes quickly when they realize society does not share the same enthusiasm they do. Their intentions were so good; they were ready to go to work, help out, volunteer, BUT no one wants them. Then, when they commit another crime that lands them back in prison, the well-meaning friends and neighbors can justify their actions by saying things like "well, I knew he would do it again". The truth is that we helped in the crime. We are accessories to the breach of faith and trust. We missed the model that Jesus shared with us.
If you want to build your faith and trust in others, then be mindful of their humanity when they miss a step in life. You do not walk a straight line yourself so don’t put anyone else in the position to do so. I can honestly say some of my greatest life lessons have been taught to me by the people society would deem heathens. God works in all of us. He works best in the lowly because the righteous have their halo so tight that it squeezes the love and forgiveness right out of their brain. Please humble yourselves enough to give people another chance. The greatest work, the best miracle, may be one more yes, or opening one more door, or around the next corner. DO NOT GIVE UP on people just because they made a mistake. The best is still in them and for you to be great you must help others to be great.
Be the role model God can work through to make this world more peaceful. As the great Zig Ziglar always says "to get what you want out of life you must first help enough others get what they want". The next step is up to you.
peace to you
Dale
I want to raise the stakes just a bit and see where we can take this. What can destroy that faith or trust to the point that you will never allow it to return? Going farther, can anyone place their total faith and trust in you?
I address this for a simple reason. We are all concupiscent beings, which means we have a tendency to sin. No one is perfect including you. We tend to elevate people on a pedestal that they cannot stay on, yet when they fall we tear the pedestal down and beat them with it. Now that same measure we hope would not be used against us because HEY, we are human remember.
It pains me to no end to see people that have given so much to have society including friends, neighbors, and family kick them when they are down. The worse thing about this is most people do not even realize they do it.
Trust is earned, as is respect. Trust can be broken and when it is, how can it be restored? That is really the message here. When we fail, how can we be made whole in our sphere of influence? For the true blue Christians I ask this, what about Peter, the man who denied Christ three times? He lied; he did not know who the man was, or so he said. Jesus forgave him and then allowed him to lead the early Christian movement. Had Jesus have measured his trust the way we do, Christianity would have been lost then and there. Keep in mind that Peter did not have much time to restore his trust, Jesus was about to be crucified.
To make this part of the story palatable we can always say that since Jesus was God, he knew the heart of Peter and that is not a characteristic we have. OR IS IT?
Think about this; when a prisoner is released, with excitement he or she is ready to get back to society and prove they are worthy of a second chance. That excitement wanes quickly when they realize society does not share the same enthusiasm they do. Their intentions were so good; they were ready to go to work, help out, volunteer, BUT no one wants them. Then, when they commit another crime that lands them back in prison, the well-meaning friends and neighbors can justify their actions by saying things like "well, I knew he would do it again". The truth is that we helped in the crime. We are accessories to the breach of faith and trust. We missed the model that Jesus shared with us.
If you want to build your faith and trust in others, then be mindful of their humanity when they miss a step in life. You do not walk a straight line yourself so don’t put anyone else in the position to do so. I can honestly say some of my greatest life lessons have been taught to me by the people society would deem heathens. God works in all of us. He works best in the lowly because the righteous have their halo so tight that it squeezes the love and forgiveness right out of their brain. Please humble yourselves enough to give people another chance. The greatest work, the best miracle, may be one more yes, or opening one more door, or around the next corner. DO NOT GIVE UP on people just because they made a mistake. The best is still in them and for you to be great you must help others to be great.
Be the role model God can work through to make this world more peaceful. As the great Zig Ziglar always says "to get what you want out of life you must first help enough others get what they want". The next step is up to you.
peace to you
Dale
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