TRUST

TRUST

This five-letter word, they say, is easy to break but hard to earn. It has built bonds, friendships, relationships, and even businesses and empires have been built on this seemingly simple word: trust. Trust is when a person, without question or a shadow of turning, develops total reliance, vulnerability, faith, confidence, assurance, and conviction in the character, strength, and ability of another individual.

One question we need to reflect deeply on is how well do we handle the trust a person or people place in us? When it comes to trust, we often get carried away, especially when we get overly comfortable with the confidence and faith a person puts in us. Often, we tend to see ourselves as indispensable, especially when a person becomes vulnerable with us, and we lose track of the seemingly blurred line and make decisions that we ordinarily feel won’t matter. But when the die is cast, it becomes apparent that that little decision or action taken was a lot to break that trust.

In this current climate, people find it hard to trust, mostly because of past experiences of betrayal and disappointments or based on stories or situations witnessed. It is situations like this that makes it difficult for people to open up but then, when a person decides to open up, it usually takes a lot from such a person because of the confidence already developed in the other person.

Breaking trust means breaking the bond of friendship. It means going back to zero points. It means a loss of integrity. It means one cannot be dependable. It’s easy to say “I am sorry” when trust is broken and make promises and assurances, but it is hard to earn that trust back. And even if it is earned back, which will take a lot of intentionality, it won’t be 100% because of the guard that would have been put in place.

So how do you handle trust when placed on us and when we place it on people? For the former, the best way to handle it is to always place ourselves in the shoes of the other person and see how we would feel when we are betrayed. That cringe feeling will always help us stay on track. Also, respect goes a long way in making sure that we don’t break people’s trust in us. If we truly have respect for the feelings of others and give regard to how our actions will affect them, we will always be in check.

On the other hand, as they say, the only person you can totally trust is GOD. Human beings are bound to err, and betrayal comes from the least expected person. However, does that mean we can’t trust people? No. We can trust people, but we should be careful about people you trust, no matter how sincere they may seem. Hence, as the Holy Bible teaches “…try all spirits…”. As subjective as this opinion may be, I will always suggest that we always give room for doubt and keep an open mind when it comes to trust so that when the worst comes, it doesn’t hit us hard.

Be safe out there.

#MMBA5