Regaining A Sense Of Trust In Our Society

Over the past sixty years, this writer has observed a slowly deteriorating society with regard to the characteristic of “trust.” With all of the terrorist news reports (i.e., Boston bombing, etc.) and the installation of another vast bureaucracy called “Homeland Security” (do we feel secure yet?), we have become far less trusting of other folks than ever before in our nation‘s history. Because of a lack of trust, people now have to be thoroughly checked out at airports via x-ray screening technology before they can board an airplane. When we enter any kind of business establishment, there are cameras everywhere, tracking our every move, by and large telling us that we’re not really customers at all, but rather potential robbers and thieves, further causing a lack of trust to exist.

In the local school district where I am presently employed, management has recently installed and put into operation time clocks that are telling employees, “We don’t really trust you to fill out time vouchers honestly and accurately, so we’re installing time clocks to forcibly keep you honest.” Just another indication of a lack of trust within our school district.

The sad part in all of the above examples, is that seemingly common everyday citizens are causing much of the mistrust in our once great country simply by their destructive and non-caring behavior. People are killing other people seemingly for no reason at all. If someone doesn’t like us, they may just blow us away by a barrage of bullets or set off some kind of bomb device, killing not only ourselves but innocent bystanders as well. This causes a complete lack of trust in our society. We are now asking, “Who can we trust?” or “Can we trust anyone?”

Folks, we can’t build a successful or close relationship with anyone without a sense of trust. Sadly, we are living in a nation of non-trusting souls; a society which I call a “detached society.” Detached from any kind of relationship that consists of trust, human affection, kindness and caring for one another; having our fellow man’s best interests at heart (Romans 12:9-10; Philippians 2:1-5).

The question is, “What can we do as a society to regain a sense of trust with our fellow man?” The answer is simple: Our society must get back to the God of the Bible; the One in whom we can completely and unreservedly place our trust (Psalm 37:1-5; Proverbs 3:5-6). Folks must be willing to change the way they think (2 Corinthians 10:1-6) and act (Ephesians 4; Colossians 3-4), aligning their thinking with God’s thinking (Isaiah 1:18), having the same mindset as our loving Savior (Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 1:10; Philippians 2:1-2; Colossians 1:9-11; Colossians 3:8-10).

Beloved reader, let us seriously think on the above thoughts and then make any necessary changes in our thinking and in our actions. Trust can be restored to our society “if” we as a society are willing to make a personal application of God’s inerrant and inspired Word in our lives and every day living (1 Timothy 6). May God bless us as we strive to more closely conform our will to His will.

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets