Trust Is Fragile But To Be Guarded and Cherished

Everyone wants to be trusted. Take Robert, here. Everyone was holding the baby and how he longed to have a turn. But when a person is Robert's age, they aren't allowed to hold a baby unless they can really be trusted to hold him correctly, carefully, and not drop him.

I don't know if Robert really thought his mom would let him hold Matthew. And I don't know if he asked or if it was his Mom's idea. But here is a picture of Aunt Michele (Mom, if you are Robert) gently guiding him and giving him a wonderful privilege that he really wanted to have. How do I know that? I can see it on his face.

And that is one of the wonderful responsibilities that GOD has given to parents. They learned things in their lives as they matured and developed judgment and wisdom that they can pass along to you children as you are on your journey to adulthood -- and even beyond!

I tell you to guard and cherish the trust that people have in you because it is very easy to LOSE trust. If you are open and honest and dependable, you will be given more and more responsibility because you are trustworthy. Your parents and others will know that you can be depended upon to obey, to make good choices, and to fulfill your responsibilities.

I remember when I was a teenager that friends would come along and ask me to do something that I KNEW was wrong. So many times they would say, "OH, your mother will never know." And maybe she wouldn't. But I usually didn't follow the crowd in these things because I loved Mom and I didn't want to hurt her. Was I a perfect kid? NO! But I was always mindful that I didn't want to do anything that would hurt my Mom (my Dad died when I was 13). What about you? Why not set a goal to try your hardest not to hurt your parents willfully?

As time went by, I realized that friends who tried to get me to do things like cheat on papers at school or go places that I wasn't allowed to go, really did not have my best interest at heart. They really didn't care as much about ME as they did about themselves. That is what selfish people do. They ignore the rules and try to get others to go along with them. They are not trustworthy -- and they are not really good friends after all.

The most important reason to be trustworthy is that God expects it of us. If we are Christians, we should be growing to be more and more like Jesus every day. And Jesus can certainly be trusted to do the right thing every, single time.

If you have ever broken trust with your parents, your friends, or neighbors, you have also broken trust with GOD. I can remember telling a teenage daughter once, "if you go out there and do something you aren't supposed to do, I WILL find out about it. God will see to it!" And she came to believe it because she saw it happen over and over again!

He knows our hearts and He sees everything we do, reads every thought of our minds, and hears every word that we say. And the most important thing to realize is that He loves us so much that won't let us get away with it forever and that if you confess it and repent, HE WILL FORGIVE!

So GUARD and CHERISH the trust that others have in you! It brings a lot of peace when you do -- and it helps preserve a good relationship with God and others.