Trust is foundational to human relationship, but not all people are trustworthy. The Bible cautions us to be wise about the people we trust. It also cautions us not to expect from people what only God can offer. Trusting others can sometimes be difficult because we are all fallen, we break people’s trust, and our relationships have the potential to hurt us. But humans were created for relationships with others. There is no substitute for faithful friends and vibrant Christian community. We will never thrive if our goal is simply to avoid pain. In fact, it is precisely because of the power of human relationship that broken trust hurts so much. It is also because of the power of human relationship that we need to be in community with others. When we can live in trusting relationships with one another, we edify and encourage one another. So, we can strive to be trustworthy people and we can seek God’s truth and comfort when trust is broken; but we cannot avoid relationships to prevent the possibility of trust being broken. We can ask God for discernment in whom to trust and with what things, and ultimately trust Him with the results.
More than likely our trust will be broken at some point in our relationships. Perhaps even more sobering to realize, we will hurt others in our relationships and prove ourselves unworthy of their complete trust. But this is not a reason to avoid relationship or decide to never trust. Rather, this understanding helps us reset our expectations. Sometimes we feel betrayed or as if our trust is broken simply because we expected the other person to be and do what only God is and does—this is always a recipe for disappointment. But the solution is not to try to do life without other people. God designed humans for relationship with Him and with each other (Genesis 2:18; John 13:34–35; Hebrews 10:24–25). Those relationships are built on trust; and as a relationship grows, trust deepens. Of course, even the most trustworthy among us will fail. God calls us to be forgiving, as He has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:32). He also calls us to be honest, to act with integrity, and to keep our word (Matthew 5:37; Ephesians 4:25–32; Colossians 3:12–14). When someone breaks our trust, or we break theirs, we can go to them to seek restoration (Matthew 5:23–24; 18:15–20). In short, we can pursue genuine relationship while ultimately relying on God and putting our trust in Him. We can also allow Him to carry our hearts when trust is broken and to cleanse us when we have broken the trust of another.
One practical way to go about learning to trust others is to focus on being trustworthy yourself. Being a person others can trust involves honesty and integrity. It means keeping your word, not belittling others, admitting when you are wrong, seeking forgiveness, being willing to forgive as you have been forgiven in Christ, and having the courage to share the truths of God's Word and to strive to live them out through the power of the Holy Spirit.
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