Trust Broken

Trust is easily broken. It is not easily mended. On one level we know that all too well. On another level, we ignore how that same principle causes mayhem on an organizational and social scale. If we find it hard to trust, we also find it hard to get along, to work together, to create something beyond ourselves, to jointly become the body of Christ according to the charge laid upon us.

We live in a society that has weaponized distrust. Perhaps, I should state that we are one of many such societies. After all, distrust has often been weaponized throughout history. I remember having a conversation with a highway patrol officer in Brazil about what was then a new slate of traffic safety legislation that had just passed into law. It was built upon European and North American traffic standards, laying out a host of sweeping reforms for driving safety, including seat-belt usage, limiting vehicle occupancy to the number of properly installed seat belts, DUI regulation, and so many things a driver in the US would take for granted. The officer did not trust the new legislation for being anything more than a means for politicians to turn a profit. After generations of corruption at all levels, actions taken with the intent of protecting lives were very difficult for this officer to trust.

Not only did this officer distrust those in power over him, he also projected that same distrust toward all authority, and ultimately toward God. His perception of how laws were made without consideration for the general welfare bled over into his understanding of definitions of sin, divine condemnation, and even the very character of God. He distrusted authority, and, consequently, he distrusted God. Trust was not something he could easily extend to others, for he had learned and embraced a need to be distrustful of one and all as a matter of course, as a matter of survival.

I heard distrust of all institutions beyond the church touted as a matter of course while growing up in Brazil. I heard much of the same in regard to politicians, educators, scientists, and the media from churches in the US. All of this distrust was rooted in fear. Those we distrusted were those we deemed in some way to be a threat. Not only did we distrust certain halls of power, we also distrusted all who were in some way other. We distrusted successive waves of immigrants of varying backgrounds. We distrusted those who did not fall in line with our cultural definitions of what was appropriate. I remember being told that I would not be trusted because I wore a beard.

That same penchant for sowing distrust is now wreaking havoc in many places where people who distrust experts, authorities, science, education, and media are also hesitant to accept the efficacy, need, and safety of vaccines. We have seen several politicians suddenly encouraging their supporters to accept vaccination and the appropriate step forward. We have just seen the FDA give full authorization to the Pfizer vaccine. For many, however, too much distrust has already been sown. Those seeds of distrust have long since germinated. Turning back the page to suddenly trust government, social institutions, science, experts, and media voices will not be as simple as a thing.

Where trust has been broken, where distrust has been sown, rebuilding trust and confidence is no easy matter. Simply turning around and telling those among whom we have sown distrust that they should now have faith places us in the position of those we told them all along they should not trust. We should know better. We should do better. Unfortunately, we rarely do.

Jesus condemned many political and religious leaders in his day. He did not, however, sown the kind of distrust we so often encounter. He told us to place our confidence in God and called on those who opposed him to renew their commitment to God. He did not treat them as enemies. He did not treat them as threats. He demonstrated instead what it means to trust God despite opposition.

If we would build a society that feels secure, it is not through sowing the seeds of distrust. It is rather through laying a foundation where trust might be built and grow in confidence. After all, it is not distrust that leads us to God. It is faith that takes us there. It is confidence. It is trust that God rewards those who seek reconciliation. The world around us, the society in which we live, is not our enemy. It is full of persons for whom Christ died, people God desires to reconcile in love and grace. That is not a message we should distrust.

— ©Copyright 2021, Christopher B. Harbin

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