FaceValues - TRUST : Who can I trust?
Sermon preached at Barclay Church, Edinburgh by Rev D. Graham Leitch
based on materials provided by FaceValues
13 October 2002

Today in the present FACEVALUES series of services we come to the subject of trust. As with each theme there is a poster for us in and especially beyond the churches to stimulate thought, question and discussion on the subject. The picture this time shows a polling station at an election. A voter has marked his ballot paper and is preparing to deposit it in the ballot box. And the question on the poster is “Who could you trust?”

The values we have been looking at in this series - things like RESPECT, LOVE and FORGIVENESS to name just three - are some of the values that we believe as Christians provide the foundation for a stable healthy, happy and prosperous society.

A PROSPEROUS SOCIETY?
I’m using the word prosperous in its broadest sense. The fact that prosperity is often defined in economic terms, without reference to life’s social and spiritual dimensions, is itself a sign that we need to consider again what life’s about -

Money, we say. makes people prosperous - to have money is good; to make more money is better. But Jesus angle on money is different:

“the love of money” he once famously said ‘is the root of all evil.”

What makes for a prosperous society? It isn’t the tangible things, like money and plenty, It isn’t everyone driving around in big cars, wearing expensive clothes, owning the latest multi function home entertainment and living in luxury.

In the Bible Jesus once told the story of a man whose business prospered - he became a successful farmer and his business boomed -he built more, acquired more and was surrounded by great wealth. But Jesus in his story calls him a fool!!

One of the saddest sentences in the Bible occurs in Marks account of rich young ruler who engaged Jesus in conversation about eternal life - and when Jesus told him how to find it “he went away sad because he had great wealth.” -

“sad” Mark says,“because he had great wealth”

No! Money and plenty alone don't automatically make for prosperity - it isn’t the tangible things that make a society prosperous but less tangible things - values like RESPECT, COMPASSION, FAIRNESS, LOVE - and the value that claim our attention this morning - TRUST.

THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUST...
There is practically NO area of life in which TRUST doesn’t play an important part.

...IN EVERYDAY LIFE
Take everyday life. When I get up in the morning and turn on the tap I trust that the water which flows from it and from which I drink is clean and contains nothing that might harm me - that it’s been carefully filtered and that it hasn’t been poisoned. When I sit down to me breakfast and pour the cereal into my plate - I trust the manufacturer who produced it and the company that sold it to me - that it is what it says and not something else.

And then when it’s time to go to work and I climb into the car, start it and drive out onto the road I trust everyone else who’s on the road to drive on the left, to stop when the lights are red and to give way when they’re meant to.

And then when I arrive at the office I trust the chair to hold me, the phone to connect me, the pen to write and the coffee machine to work - the fact that I do this without really thinking about it doesn't alter the fact that in each of these situations I am exercising trust.

...IN BUSINESS
In business it’s the same. When me central heating breaks down and I send for the plumber, I trust him to come when he says he will - I trust him not to cheat me, because I may not know whether I need a washer costing a few pence or a boiler costing hundreds of pounds to get my central heating working again. And I trust him to charge me fairly.

In all professions and business, TRUST is essential - that’s why professional codes of conduct exist.
And the consequences of breaches of trust can be severe as the Shipman case in the world of medicine and the Enron and Anderson affairs in the accountancy world have recently proved.

...IN PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
TRUST is essential in personal relationships too. It isn’t just in little things like your friend turning up to meet you at the right time but in bigger things like keeping confidences - and of course trust is all important in the closest most important relationship of all to most people, marriage. In marriage we trust our partner to remain faithful and not to cheat on us.

...IN POLITICS
As I mentioned earlier the poster to accompany this theme shows a ballot box and the question “Who can you trust?”

We are at the end of the annual party conference season and we have listened to the party leaders seeking to rally the faithful - but how much can we trust our politicians. TRUST is built on integrity and integrity is not a quality conspicuously present in the corridors of power for some time:

Whether its Henry McLeish’s expenses or John Major’s promotion of a “back to basics” campaign while he was himself having an affair; whether it’s a local council scandal, the latest of Geoffrey Archer’s antics or the endless half truths and concealments of Tony’s spin-doctors - when it comes to TRUST today’s politicians don’t rate highly.

...IN HOUSE SELLING!
Some of you may have heard an item on Radio 4’s today programme early last week - it was about an English estate agent who had decided to advertise houses for sale by describing them honestly. This approach is apparently so novel that it rated time on a national radio network - Estate Agents apparently rank alongside politicians at the foot of the TRUST tables.

Here, for the bemuses new house seeker, are one or two of the more common terms used by estate agents and their meaning:

deceptively spacious = there’s not really much room
in need of some renovation = damp, woodworm infested,
has potential - derelict but not yet condemned

The fact of the matter is that there is no area of life - no sector in business - no dimension in human relations in which TRUST is not crucial to either the safety or stability, the health and prosperity of the society we live in.

LOOKING AT TRUST IN THE BIBLE
If we want to look at the subject of TRUST from a Christian standpoint we naturally turn to the Bible first of all to find out what it has to say. We soon find out that trust, trusting and trustworthiness are central themes in God’s Word.

1. A WARNING ABOUT TRUST!
In it we find, first of all, a warning! The Bible is a practical book and recognises as a fact this fallen world - a world in which things aren’t always and they seem and folk don’t always speak the truth or act honestly - a world in which TRUST is sometimes abused and people betrayed.

And so we find this realistic advice:

“do not put your trust in mortal men....” Psalm 146:3

In the book of Jeremiah, we find God lamenting a lack of integrity and trustworthiness - he looks and sees deceit everywhere - the value of TRUST based on integrity has vanished - its a situation to which we are, if not rapidly, remorselessly returning:

1 Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people. 2 Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travellers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people. 3 "They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies; it is not by truth that they triumph in the land...... 4 "Beware of your friends; do not trust your brothers. For every brother is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. 5 Friend deceives friend, and no-one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning. 6 You live in the midst of deception!....”

TRUST IN SOCIETY TODAY
People used to trust not just their friends and neighbours but everybody else as well. When we visited the Karen tribespeople on the Thai Burmese border last year one of the things that struck us was their openness - I don;t just mean the openness of their welcome but the openness of their homes - not only were their no locked doors - there were NO DOORS - and all their possessions lay open to others. Theft and burglary were rare. People just trusted each other!!

Such trust was once common in Scotland - in some remote parts its remnants remain. But how many of us would leave our doors standing open day after day today.

We trusted people with our children, but today who would leave their children with a virtual stranger - what kind of society is it in which we cannot trust anyone and the latest regulations on children’s work mean that even in the churches those who run our creches and Sunday Schools, however well-known they are to us, must present their birth certificates and passports to the church’s child protection officer before they can be approved!!

Is this what it has come to! Is this where we are! A society in which everyone’s a liar and no-one can be trusted!!

4 "Beware of your friends; do not trust your brothers.... 5 Friend deceives friend, and no-one speaks the truth.... 6 You live in the midst of deception!....”

2. AN ASSURANCE ABOUT TRUST
In the Bible we find a warning. The second thing we find is an assurance: In its pages we learn that GOD IS ENTIRELY TRUSTWORTHY - “God is faithful” the Bible says.

What a relief to turn from human sin and deceitfulness to the trustworthy character of our Creator God.

He is a covenant-making and a covenant- keeping God. God has not only committed Himself to us but committed himself to be a certain kind of God to us - a God who keeps faith with us, a God who is present with us and a God who will stand by what He has said and do what he has promised.

GOD KEEPS HIS WORD AND NEVER BREAKS IT.

TRUSTING GOD’S PROMISES
God is to be trust always, entirely, completely and forever - as much in the worst of times as at the best of times. He keeps faith and keeps his promises even when we break ours!!

Take his promise to forgive our sins:

“If we confess our sins to God” the Bible says “he will keep his promise and forgive our sins...”
(1 John 1:9)

Take his promise to give us the help we need: “My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect n weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12)

Take his promise of life after death... “I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies...” (John 11:25)

Can we believe that - can we take Jesus’ word. Is God reliable!! Thank God He is!! We can take these promises a claim them by faith and live by them as true - and when we do that we find out they are,
for :

“it is impossible for God to lie....’

3. AN ENCOURAGEMENT ABOUT TRUST
The third thing we find is an encouragement - this encouragement - that as Christians we should reflect the trustworthiness and dependability of God in our lives. As Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount:

“Simply let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no!”

In the world God’s people should be known as trustworthy - as employees, service providers, in public life and in our personal dealings alike. We should not be people who take advantage of others, let alone rip them off!!

We should be reliable, dependable, willing neither to exaggerate or bend the truth if it makes us look better. We should be straight, honest and above board in our dealings.

Ask yourself these questions:

Can I be treated with confidential information or am I prone to gossip or listen to gossip?

Am I known for being honest and direct? do I admit fault when it is mine, or do I bend the truth to protect my reputation? (Telling myself, of course that it doesn’t really matter because nobody knows)

When I commit to do something can I be relied upon to do it?

Do I give of my best or am I happy to cheat my employer (because he can afford it)? Am I honest in my business dealings or underhand?

Am I scrupulously honest - with my tax, my expenses and my debts?

These are obvious tests of our trustworthiness - Christians should commend faith in God and following Jesus Christ as much by their conduct as by their conversation!!

If we are Christians our word should be our bond we should be dependable, not unreliable; honest not underhand.

The fact of the matter is that role models of INTEGRITY and TRUST are scarce today. It is therefore more important than ever for Christian parents to be above reproach in this regard. Our children won’t lack the opposite in a deceitful and dishonest world.

Similarly, as Christian citizens we we must seek to preserve and promote TRUST as a virtue and show ourselves trustworthy.

4. A CHALLENGE ABOUT TRUST
This brings me to the final lesson and it is a CHALLENGE about trust. What are we to do in a world in which TRUST is at a premium, in which expedience is chosen before principle, in which integrity and dependability are in scarce supply.

The challenges comes to us from the words of the Bible which urges:

“overcome evil with good.”

HOW CAN WE RESTORE TRUST AS A VALUE IN SOCIETY? In the face of corruption and dishonest practice; in the face of hypocrisy and deceit we often feel helpless. But there are some things we can do:
. We can let our politicians know that integrity will be rewarded at the ballot box and cant and
hypocrisy cut no ice. We can communicate our distaste for “spin” and our appreciation of the
honest and straightforward approach.

. We can work within our chosen professions and spheres of influence to promote an uphold
honest practices and to oppose sharp practice of any kind. This may mean trade union
involvement or or seeking election to business and professional associations.

. We can support trades persons and businesses we know are straightforward and dependable and
show our appreciation by recommending them to others.

At the same time we can withhold our business from fro,m those who prove deceitful, dishonest or
unreliable and let them know why.


But above all we can refuse to be dragged down by the prevailing mood and determine to start with ourselves:

. Seeking forgiveness if we have let our standards slip and lack integrity

. Resolving to become again (as Christians ought to be) models of integrity, folk who are honest
and straightforward (rejecting the myth of the harmless lie for the honest approach) and regaining
trust where we have broken faith and failed God by failing other sin this regard.

It is thus that we can overcome evil with good and begin to make a difference - it may be too dramatic to speak of turning the tide, but it may not be too unrealistic to think of changing the course and direction of the flow!!

AMEN

Previous sermon

Back to index

Next sermon