“Trust Me”

This two-word phrase may be among the most distrusted phrases in the English language.

When someone says “trust me”, what do you assume? That they’re sincere, or that they have ulterior motives?

Why do we care so much about this one word?

TRUST

Is it because we try, more than anything, to gain it? Or is it because we don’t want to put our trust in something – or someone – who we know might fail us?

A lot of the time, we either put all our trust in people, or next to none of it.

When you invest an overly large amount of stock in people, there is a chance that you can be hurt. Putting yourself at the complete mercy of others can sometimes be a recipe for disaster.

If you’ve seen Star Wars, I’m sure you’ll remember what led to Emperor Palpatine’s downfall in Episode VI.

If you’re unfamiliar with what happened; Darth Vader (Palpatine’s apprentice) witnessed his son being tortured by the Emperor. Moved by love, Vader picked up the Emperor and launched him into the Death Star reactor – killing himself in the process. Trust was Palpatine’s fatal flaw. He put too much of it in someone who ended up overthrowing him.

On the converse, let’s take Marvel’s Iron Man.

At the start of his journey, he cared about no one but himself. To be blunt, he thought he was a god. Because of this, a rift quickly developed between him and the other Avengers.

Me, Myself, and I were the only people who mattered to Tony Stark (aka Iron Man). Thanks to that ideology, he screwed his life up many times. Trust was, once again, a fatal flaw. In his case though, it was his lack of trust in anyone and everyone that nearly killed him many times.

Trust can be a danger at both ends of the spectrum.

If we put too much trust in someone, we can end up hurting ourselves. However, if we put too little trust in someone (or none at all), we’ll quite often end up friendless and alone. Where do we find the balance?

Our trust should be put in the one Person who will never let us down.

Unlike each and every person on this planet, God will not fail you. Putting your trust in Him is the best decision you could ever make. He’ll never backstab you, never fail to come to your rescue, and never break your trust.

People can – and will – fail you. It’s true. However, this doesn’t mean don’t put your trust in anyone. Not at all. It means make sure you put your trust in the One who matters before placing your trust in others. When you allow Jesus to be your guide, He will show you the right people to place your trust in.

As Proverbs 3:5 (NIV) says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” Jesus knows people way better than we do, and He knows who is worthy of your trust and who is not.

So who will you trust?