Chronicles of Love, Part XI
"...ALWAYS TRUSTS..."
OK, so by now I suppose you're all thinking "we've gone through ten of these "things" on LOVE; how many more could this guy POSSIBLY write?" well, ...3, ... to be exact. I've written blogs on 13 critical traits about love found in the 13th chapter of the first letter to the Corinthians. There,...now you know, and I'm confident they won't do you any harm.
And on that note: Do you trust me? I know, that seems a bizarre question to follow up with, but nonetheless, NOT totally off topic. Plus, I had to digress somehow. I know that we, as Americans, LOVE the word trust. We love to use it to our advantage; to offer trust to those in our favor and to withhold it from those who we think OWE us. Am I right? We're quick to throw it around carelessly the minute someone fails us, and I doubt any of you would argue with that. For example...[caption id="" align="alignright" width="256" caption="The "Love" Symbol ???"]
[/caption]
- Lowe's sold us the wrong part? ... don't trust 'em.
- Soccer coach won't put in my little girl? ... don't trust 'im.
- Toyota wouldn't cover the transmission under warranty? ... don't trust 'em.
- A church leader didn't share with me all the details I thought I deserved? ... don't trust 'im.
Too close to home? Some of you will read the statements above and say "well, now, you're just not being realistic...you can't expect me to just blindly trust everyone." Well, I'm not. Paul says "Love ALWAYS trusts." The word here actually means to "credit" or to "place confidence in." Whoa. So, to love someone means I have to assume the truth in them, even after I "KNOW" (sarcasm intended) they've been dishonest with me? (We seem to KNOW a lot about other people's honesty, sometimes, don't we?)
You may be thinking, "well, maybe the FIRST time I can still trust them, but after they've done it repeatedly? I mean come'on...'fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on ME, right?" Isn't that the gospel according to Oprah? I mean we're not supposed to just continue thinking the best in someone, are we? ... ARE we? After all, the "artist formerly known as Prince" (or whatever you want to call him) once wrote a song entitled, "I Love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore." Now, hopefully you are laughing at the absurdity of that title, but let me ask you something. Have you ever told yourself you would LOVE someone, but you wouldn't TRUST them anymore? Seriously, if I looked you in the eye right now, how many of you could HONESTLY say you've NEVER done that? Well, I don't know about you, but I know I'm busted.
Here's what I take away from those two words, "always trusts." It's all about giving someone THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT. We don't give it very often, but Paul is saying that if you want to love like Christ, you have to ALWAYS leave room for the seemingly "untrustworthy" person to turn around and get it right for a change. We have to assume that their intentions are noble and that their level of honesty and integrity are in tact, even if their track record tells us otherwise! Imagine this: a co-worker who sees your constant devotion to your Savior abuses you daily by misleading you, hiding things from you and mocking you simply because of your faith. One day, your devotion pays off, and he suddenly realizes that he needs that same Savior you follow, and he(she) walks up to you and says "Tell me about Jesus." How would you respond after 3 years of taunting?
"Yeah, right, leave me alone."
"Have you been drinking?"
"Whatever! I don't talk to people I don't trust!"
"Sure, and would you like fries to go with that?"
Honestly, would you follow a Savior who demonstrated a love that "ALWAYS DOUBTS?" Well? What do you think?
OK, so by now I suppose you're all thinking "we've gone through ten of these "things" on LOVE; how many more could this guy POSSIBLY write?" well, ...3, ... to be exact. I've written blogs on 13 critical traits about love found in the 13th chapter of the first letter to the Corinthians. There,...now you know, and I'm confident they won't do you any harm.
And on that note: Do you trust me? I know, that seems a bizarre question to follow up with, but nonetheless, NOT totally off topic. Plus, I had to digress somehow. I know that we, as Americans, LOVE the word trust. We love to use it to our advantage; to offer trust to those in our favor and to withhold it from those who we think OWE us. Am I right? We're quick to throw it around carelessly the minute someone fails us, and I doubt any of you would argue with that. For example...[caption id="" align="alignright" width="256" caption="The "Love" Symbol ???"]
[/caption]- Lowe's sold us the wrong part? ... don't trust 'em.
- Soccer coach won't put in my little girl? ... don't trust 'im.
- Toyota wouldn't cover the transmission under warranty? ... don't trust 'em.
- A church leader didn't share with me all the details I thought I deserved? ... don't trust 'im.
Too close to home? Some of you will read the statements above and say "well, now, you're just not being realistic...you can't expect me to just blindly trust everyone." Well, I'm not. Paul says "Love ALWAYS trusts." The word here actually means to "credit" or to "place confidence in." Whoa. So, to love someone means I have to assume the truth in them, even after I "KNOW" (sarcasm intended) they've been dishonest with me? (We seem to KNOW a lot about other people's honesty, sometimes, don't we?)
You may be thinking, "well, maybe the FIRST time I can still trust them, but after they've done it repeatedly? I mean come'on...'fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on ME, right?" Isn't that the gospel according to Oprah? I mean we're not supposed to just continue thinking the best in someone, are we? ... ARE we? After all, the "artist formerly known as Prince" (or whatever you want to call him) once wrote a song entitled, "I Love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore." Now, hopefully you are laughing at the absurdity of that title, but let me ask you something. Have you ever told yourself you would LOVE someone, but you wouldn't TRUST them anymore? Seriously, if I looked you in the eye right now, how many of you could HONESTLY say you've NEVER done that? Well, I don't know about you, but I know I'm busted.
Here's what I take away from those two words, "always trusts." It's all about giving someone THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT. We don't give it very often, but Paul is saying that if you want to love like Christ, you have to ALWAYS leave room for the seemingly "untrustworthy" person to turn around and get it right for a change. We have to assume that their intentions are noble and that their level of honesty and integrity are in tact, even if their track record tells us otherwise! Imagine this: a co-worker who sees your constant devotion to your Savior abuses you daily by misleading you, hiding things from you and mocking you simply because of your faith. One day, your devotion pays off, and he suddenly realizes that he needs that same Savior you follow, and he(she) walks up to you and says "Tell me about Jesus." How would you respond after 3 years of taunting?
"Yeah, right, leave me alone."
"Have you been drinking?"
"Whatever! I don't talk to people I don't trust!"
"Sure, and would you like fries to go with that?"
Honestly, would you follow a Savior who demonstrated a love that "ALWAYS DOUBTS?" Well? What do you think?
I am sure glad my Savior always thinks of the best of me and wants the best for me. I cannot imagine if Christ turned His back on me everytime I let Him down. Thanks for the reminder.
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