Psalm 86:1-2…Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you…
I can hold up the Scriptures and tell you things that it says but there is no fence straddling on this one – you either believe that it can change your life for good or you do not believe, pure and simple. This is dealing with someone that you cannot see, but you TRUST with your life. First Timothy 4:4…For everything created by G__ is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is received with Thanksgiving.
Why then do we trust our fellow man who we see in front of us so easily and then we are dismayed when this trust is broken? What is in the nature of man to give trust so easily and then break it so easily at the same time? What are our motives? What made us change our mind? How many times has trust been broken in your life? How did you feel when confidences, given in secret, were shouted out to the world for all to hear? Were you speechless? How many times in your lives have you said, “I can’t believe it?”
We come across this every day in business. We want to get along and we do not want to stay to ourselves; however, when we do want some quiet time, it is never understood. The distrust factor enters into the picture as it is felt that you are hiding something, you are mad, you perhaps do not like the person – the list is endless. Why is this?
What is there in human nature that wants to believe the WORST in everyone FIRST before examining the truth? Why is this behavior so prevalent in today’s world? We hear of distrust in homes and marriages but it is nowhere close to what we face in the business world today, simply because there are more players with more attitudes, with more agendas, with more personalities, and more thoughts presupposed to believing the worst.
What do we do in business when this occurs? Do we let it continue or do we put a stop to it and put the parties together and solve the issues? Do we allow ourselves to get involved in believing the worst and then act surprised when we learn the truth?
Trust is earned!
We have a fatal flaw inside of us and this flaw is called BEING HUMAN. Have you ever examined your thoughts when you are alone, when you dream, when you have a free moment at work, when you arise in the morning, when you are talking to your spouse, when your children tell you about their day, when they tell you about their grades in school, when your spouse tells you it was a LONG errand, or just simply wandering thoughts regarding everything?
In the business world, it would seem that far too often we are left to our own devices with no direction on the little things in life. If you are a manager, are you in servant mode concerning your employees? Do you look into their eyes when speaking with them? Do you listen carefully or look at your watch or answer your cell phone? Do you have a mental picture of every employee in your head regarding his or her standard behavior and notice when there are changes? Do you start the conversations, i.e., “Are you feeling well, or simply, What’s wrong.” If you are a committed employee, manager or not, trust your instincts. They are usually right, i.e., if you wish to get involved for change.
Our spouses are so used to just agreeing to avoid any confrontation that along the way it becomes standard behavior. Can you trust this yes or this no? Are you in tune with your oneness to realize an ache in the system, a hurt in the psyche, perhaps a tear shed, or a slight surge of anger curtailed at the last minute?
The world is a beautiful place and we must give it everything that we have daily in order to invoke trust in others. Somerset Maugham said it beautifully, “There are two good things in life, freedom of thought and freedom of action.”
Are your thoughts today of trust? Are you willing to act to make trust a natural assumption that is believable among all? Are you willing to be the servant you are called to be?
Now, that is a discussion for another day.
Blessings.