Thursday, May 03, 2007
Placing Trust
Solo Feminity quotes Boundless on the issue of trust. It is specifically about "relationship" trust (you know, guys and girls) but I think it has much broader implications. I like the pull quote SF uses, so I'll repeat it here
But when it comes to church, there is one fundamental difference. Men, or women, are just another sinner. They may, falsely, come to embody our dreams and desires, but when they fail to live up to that we discover common corruption - we are all so corrupt.
The church; however, is supposed to be Christ's bride, Him visible here on earth. There should be nothing common about corruption in the church. And yet there is little uncommon about such corruption. My trust in God Almighty allows me to hold to the fact that He is at work even through that corruption, but I have never been able to shake the great disappointment and heartache that it creates.
And yet, so often, when confronted with that corruption, the response I get for church officialdom, is a shrug, and a blithe "Hey we're just a community of sinners." How can we be blaze' at the thought of corruption in Christ's name? Sin is not an excuse, it's the enemy.
And that's why when it comes to trusting the church, I'm a Ronald Reagan kind of guy, "Trust, but verify."
Related Tags: trust, relationships, church, corruption, sin, excuses, Ronald Reagan
We could talk about your past experiences and how they influence your framework for relationships now, but I just don't think that's really the problem for most of us. I am more convinced than ever that our insecurities have less to do with our past experiences with people and much more to do with our current view of God.I think that applies to a lot more than guy/girl stuff. I know that is the very process I had to undergo to even begin to participate in church again all those many years ago - and even at that there are some branches of the church in which I still have no trust.
Here's what I mean. You say that your hurt from a previous relationship caused you to have a general distrust towards men. I'm sure there is truth to that, but here's what I think is really going on: that it's not men you generally distrust, but God.
What many of us do, even those of us who are serious Christians, is give to other humans the level of trust that can only be reserved for God, and give God the level of trust that would be about appropriate for humans. We flip-flop our trusts, and when we do that, we are setting ourselves up for a big-time disappointment.
But when it comes to church, there is one fundamental difference. Men, or women, are just another sinner. They may, falsely, come to embody our dreams and desires, but when they fail to live up to that we discover common corruption - we are all so corrupt.
The church; however, is supposed to be Christ's bride, Him visible here on earth. There should be nothing common about corruption in the church. And yet there is little uncommon about such corruption. My trust in God Almighty allows me to hold to the fact that He is at work even through that corruption, but I have never been able to shake the great disappointment and heartache that it creates.
And yet, so often, when confronted with that corruption, the response I get for church officialdom, is a shrug, and a blithe "Hey we're just a community of sinners." How can we be blaze' at the thought of corruption in Christ's name? Sin is not an excuse, it's the enemy.
And that's why when it comes to trusting the church, I'm a Ronald Reagan kind of guy, "Trust, but verify."
Related Tags: trust, relationships, church, corruption, sin, excuses, Ronald Reagan
