Trust is the starting point for every human activity. Human beings cannot escape trusting. We must trust something or someone in order to function. We can’t take our car onto the highway without trusting other drivers. We can’t board a plane without trusting an airline’s employees.
Trust is necessary because we are finite. Our sphere of comprehension is tiny. Faith is required because there is so much beyond our capacity. So, one of the most important choices in our lives becomes who (or what) we trust.
The world offers us all sorts of things to trust. The equivalent of “chariots and horses” in our age is governments and politicians. Pop culture offers a different menu of options in which to trust – the allure of fame and celebrity; Consumer ads; the affirmation of our peers; happiness through purchase and accumulation.
Life’s circumstances are much like the earth’s movement. They relentlessly swirl around us, but we can remain “still” when we exercise faith in what is real and true. When we place our trust in stable things we become more stable ourselves.
As one of the three things we can control, whom or what we trust is a powerful catalyst for the kind of life we live and the type of influence we wield. It ought to be something we do with great intentionality.