A Sacred Trust
Luke 16:10-11
By Dave Redick

Trust is a bit like the air we breath, we take it for granted until, for some reason, it becomes fouled. Then we are forced to pay attention.

Introduction

A young man was sent to Spain by his company to work in a new plant. He accepted because it would enable him to earn enough to marry his long-time girlfriend. Their plan was to pool their resources and put a down payment on a house when he returned. As the lonely weeks went by, she began expressing doubts that he was being true to her. After all, she reasoned, Spain is populated by beautiful women. The young man declared that he was paying absolutely no attention to the local girls. "I admit," he wrote, "that sometimes I'm tempted. But I fight it. I'm keeping myself for you."

In the next mail, the young man received a package. It contained a note and a harmonica. "I'm sending this to you," his girlfriend wrote, "so you can have something to take your mind off those girls." The young man wrote back that he was practicing on the harmonica every night and thinking only of her.

When the young man returned home to the states his girl was waiting at the airport. As he rushed forward to embrace her, she held up a restraining hand and said sternly, "Hold on there. First I want to hear you play that harmonica!"

She didn't quite trust him, did she?

Trust is a very important issue. Without it, many things in our society either wouldn't work or would be severely hampered. You depend upon trust every day of your life.

This message is about trust and I have five things to say about it. I hope before I am finished, you are challenged to see the importance of building and preserving trust in your life and to make every effort to be a trustworthy person.

The first thing I want to say is this:

1. Trust is Essential to Life and Relationships.

When you need to have your car repaired, when you are going to have surgery, when you take a check from someone, you usually make some effort to be sure you're dealing with someone you can trust.

When you are going to take a trip across the country, when your teenaged daughter is picked up for a date by a young man, when you sit down in a restaurant for a meal hoping you won't get food poisoning, you are trusting either someone or something.

When you bare your soul before another Christian, when you pass through an intersection while driving (hoping someone doesn't hit you), when you as a husband or wife leave your mate to go on a trip, you are trusting someone.

We trust people dozens of times every day without even thinking about it. Can you imagine what life would be like if suddenly you could trust no one?

Back in 1992, a good number of people decided that character wasn't that important in the private life of an elected official. If he was a liar or philanderer on his own time, that was OK. He could still be trusted in office. I don't think it is any big secret today that we are learning a big lesson in regard to such foolish reasoning.

Trust is a bit like the air we breath, we take it for granted until, for some reason, it becomes fouled. Then we are forced to pay attention. The Bible mentions the concept of trust hundreds of times within its pages. Hundreds more times though it isn't mentioned, it is assumed. While I could give you a list of those passages, I'll let our text suffice this morning so we can get right to work making some important points about this matter of trust.

Chuck Colson, the former Watergate break-in conspirator who was converted to evangelical Christianity in prison and speaks out for modern evangelicism today writes: "In our zeal to accommodate our so-called enlightened and tolerant age, we have lost the ideal of public virtue [and trust]. I am reminded of Samuel Johnson, who, upon learning that one of his dinner guests believed morality was merely a sham, said to his butler, 'Well, if he really believes that there is no distinction between virtue and vice, let us count the spoons before he leaves.' Colson continues, "Today there aren't any spoons left to count. Look at Washington, Wall Street, academia, sports, the ministry--all the spoons are gone because we can no longer distinguish between virtue and vice... Unless we learn how to live [with integrity], we are doomed."⁽¹⁾ Integrity is an issue of trust.

There was a time in this country when about the only people you had to worry about were the crooks that were easy to spot. Today, many are not really sure if they can even trust their friends.

Someone has said, "Suspicion enters by the door through which trust exits." It surely seems that suspicion is the rule of our day!

Back in the days of Jeremiah, just before the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians, Jeremiah lamented the condition of his people and the fact that you couldn't trust anyone.

"Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!"

"... they bend their tongue like their bow; lies and not truth prevail in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know [God]. Let everyone be on guard against his neighbor, and do not trust any brother; because every brother deals craftily, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. And everyone deceives his neighbor, and does not speak the truth, they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves committing iniquity." [Jer. 9:1-3]

Less than 50 years after those words were spoken, Judah was overrun by the Babylonian war machine as a judgement of God.

Folks, a friendship or a family or a church or a nation of suspicious or cynical people where there is no trust is on the path to destruction. Trust is essential to life and relationships.

The second thing I want to say about trust is that

2. Trust is an Earned Commodity.

I suppose there are a few exceptions to that, but not very many. A young woman, raised in a good family where trust was assumed, might be inclined to hand unearned trust to the first young man who shows an interest in her. But once she gets burned, she's much slower to trust until she knows such a person is worthy of it. In other words, her trust must be earned.

Trust is an issue between parents and teenagers. Teens say, "Why don't you trust me?" Probably because trust hasn't been earned. Trust isn't a birthright! It's an earned right!

If you are sixteen years old and have never gotten behind the wheel of a car, don't expect me to hand you my keys. First, you have to prove you can be trusted, in this case, that either you can drive or you're willing to take some instruction, and I want to know if you are reckless or stupid about responsibility when you're on your own.

This issue of earned trust is even more clearly necessary if you have committed a breach of trust. If, after I handed you the keys, you went out and drove so recklessly that you destroyed my car, you won't get the keys again because I don't trust you. As a matter of fact, it will be even harder to gain my trust once you've messed things up!

Trust is earned.

A man can become an elder in the church only after he has proven that he meets the qualifications and can manage his own household.

Before a man can become a deacon, he must first be tested according to 1 Timothy 3:10.

I realize you may think I'm dwelling too much on the obvious here, but this issue of trust being an earned thing is essential to our understanding. Stick with me and I'll show you why.

3. Trust Is Built On Individual Deeds of Faithfulness.

Perhaps you are a teenager who would like to earn your parents' trust. (Wouldn't it be great to have more freedom to be able to do things, knowing you're parents trusted you?)

Or, lets take another case. Perhaps, due to things that have happened in your marriage, there is suspicion between you and your mate.

Or, perhaps you would like to try to qualify for one of the offices in the church and you realize that trust is a big issue.

I have said trust is earned... What can you do to earn trust? Here are some pointers we can take from our text.

A. First, be attentive to little things.

Luke 16:10 says, "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much."

Guys, I think that is why our wives appreciate us more when we remember and do the little things for them. Everyone does the big things (birthdays, anniversaries), yet in spite of that, they cannot be trusted. It takes an extra effort to pay attention to the little things. Seeing to the little things says to your wife, "I really love you and you can count on me."

There is a similarity between building trust and building muscles. If you want to build your muscles up you sign up for a weight training program and start working out. But you don't try to pick up the biggest, heaviest weight you can find right off! Rather, you start with something small and work up.

Trust is the same way. If you want to earn someone's trust, don't sit around waiting for some big issue to come along, all the while ignoring the little everyday issues. Get to work on the little things!

Concentrate on telling the truth every time you speak. Those "little white lies" or "convenience lies" that so many people tell without thinking about - make it your business to clean them up. When one pops out, go back and admit it and tell the truth.

That 35 mile per hour zone you take every morning at 50 - make yourself slow down and go the speed limit - not just when you're watching for the cops, but when no one is watching!

When you tell somebody you'll be someplace and circumstances make it inconvenient to carry through, honor your word and show up anyway or at least call if you can't be there.

If someone hands you an extra dollar in change in the checkout stand, hand it back to them. You don't have to make a big deal of it or expect some kind of medal. Just hand it back and say, "Oops, you gave me too much change."

When you parents make a commitment to your children to be somewhere, keep your word and be there!

When you teens tell your folks where you and your friends are going to be on Friday night, be sure you're there! If your plans change, give them a call and let them know. If you can't get them on the phone, come home.

Christians, pay your bills on time. Let your word be your bond. Speak truth even if it hurts.

If you are faithful remembering these little things, the "muscle" of trust will grow. When a big test comes, you'll be accustomed to doing the right thing and it will be much easier to resist doing wrong. Better than that, though, those whom you wish would trust you will see your diligence and begin to put faith in you. God, too, will put faith in you, and one day, He will say to you what he said to the faithful stewards in Matt 25:21, "Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master"

If you want to earn trust, be attentive to small things.

Another piece of advice I would offer is this:

B. Be faithful with other's things.

Luke 16:12 says, "And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?"

My grandfather was a real "stickler" with this principle, and I'm glad of it. His philosophy was, "If you borrow something from someone, always take it back in as good or better shape than it was in when you took it."

He was a self employed gardener for a number of years. I remember one time when I was in the fifth grade I went to work with him for the day. He had borrowed someone's lawn mower. I don't think he knew that he was giving his grandson a lesson that would be carried the rest of his life and someday be repeated in a sermon. Before returning the mower, he took a rag and wiped it down, flipped it over and pressure washed the underneath part, cleaned the air filter, and changed the spark plug. Needless to say, he never had to ask a second time to borrow anything! He was trusted.

But there is a greater benefit than that. God will honor you when you do these things! He is the one you need to impress, anyway. Promotion comes from Him! Be faithful with other's things.

One more thing I would say if you want to earn trust is this:

C. Be faithful when no one is watching.

I like that old saying that goes, "What you are when no one is watching is what you are." That little sentence has rescued me from temptation more times than I'm anxious to admit!

What do you and I do when someone suddenly points a camera at us? Often we hold up our hand and say, "Wait a minute!" Then maybe we comb our hair or strike a pose showing our best side. A good photographer, though, who is interested in taking realistic, interesting photos, always tries to snap his pictures when his subject is unaware. He'll put on his telephoto lens and get you from a distance when you think no one is watching.

Those of you old enough to remember the big issues of LIFE MAGAZINE, why was that magazine so popular? If you'll remember, it was all pictures, most of them unposed. Or, for you younger people, why is it so interesting to pick up an issue of PEOPLE MAGAZINE in the doctor's office lobby and flip through it? Isn't it because you get to see certain celebrities as they really are, in real-life photos rather than those posed for the camera?

What you are when no one is looking, when you are unaware that someone is taking your picture or studying your actions, is what you really are. By looking at that we learn if we can really trust you. If you're trustworthy there, it's a piece of cake to be faithful in the limelight!

Character and integrity, the two things trust is made of, are hammered out on a three headed anvil: Attentiveness to small things, faithfulness with other's things, and consistency when no one is watching.

The fourth thing I want to share with you in this message about trust is this:

4. Trust Carelessly Lost Is Difficult and Sometimes Impossible To Regain.

"Burn me once, shame on you! Burn me twice, shame on me!"

Have you ever heard that saying? Think about what it means...

It is much harder to earn someone's trust when they've been burned. In some cases, a level of trust that has been lost through carelessness can never be regained.

I think of King David of Israel, the "man after God's own heart." His faithfulness to God and his nation was a model to follow for the first 50 years of his life. Because of his integrity, the nation of Israel gained its fullest splendor during those years. God blessed the Israel because of David. But then came the sin with Bathsheba. Things changed. Someone has said that the influence of David's life resembles the pitch of a roof. It goes steadily up-up-up until it hits the peak, then it drops off sharply on the other side. The peak in this case was the serious breach of trust David made in the incident with Bathsheba and her husband.

That raises an interesting and timely question. Can a leader of God's people suffer a moral breach of trust and still serve as a leader? Can a preacher or elder run off with the church secretary or the piano player and commit adultery, repent of his sin, be forgiven, and return to his place of service? Some would say "yes", others, "no."

I tend to agree with the words of a popular writer today that I have heard quoted in several books:

"Ministry is a character profession. To put it bluntly, you can sleep around and still be a good brain surgeon. You can cheat on your mate and have little trouble continuing to practice law. Apparently, it is no problem to stay in politics and plagiarize. You can be a successful salesperson and cheat on your income tax. But you cannot do those things as a Christian or as a minister and continue enjoying the Lord's blessing. You must do right in order to have true integrity. If you can't come to terms with evil or break habits that continue to bring reproach to the name of Christ, please, do the Lord (and us in the ministry) a favor and resign." ⁽²⁾

Trust carelessly lost is often difficult to regain. Sometimes it is impossible! No, it's not that a man cannot be forgiven. There is always forgiveness when the sin is confessed and repented of. But there is still the issue of trust and trust is a different thing than forgiveness. Forgiveness is granted on the basis of God's mercy and Christ's sacrifice. It is always granted freely. Trust, on the other hand, as we have already established, must be earned. That is why, in most cases, a fallen leader cannot serve again in the same capacity.

Let's take another contemporary issue. Let's take a case of adultery in the church. Here is a marriage rocked by the fallout of an affair. Husband and wife are still together after the thing is exposed. But they find they are having trouble making a go of it. Why? Because trust has been destroyed and without trust there can be no lasting relationship.

Let me share with you a little diagram that will help you see what I mean.

(Share forgiveness/trust chart)

Here are some observations we can make:

a. Forgiveness isn't trust! As a Christian, we can demand and expect forgiveness. But trust must be earned by the one who broke it. To demand to be trusted when little or no effort has been made to rebuild trust is completely inappropriate.

b. Both parties in a case like this have their part to do. If either fails, the relationship is doomed.

c. It takes time to rebuild trust. Only those who are deadly serious about doing it for the long haul will ever succeed.

d. It takes extra effort to rebuild trust that has been lost. The first building was probably put up relatively quickly. Not so the second. Before the new building is built, the builder will learn to appreciate every brick in it!

Allow me to mention a little side note here. Sometimes distrust is not our fault but is the result of the mental condition of another.

If you remember the intense distrust King Saul had for David in the early years when David was his personal musician, had David done anything to deserve the distrust? No! David did things to build trust, yet Saul still didn't trust him. All the time he was in the palace under King Saul, David's actions were proper and right and should have built trust. Saul's backslidden mental condition did not allow him to trust anyone. Backsliders are people with poor character. It is hard for them to imagine that anyone has good character. Their cynicism allows no trust.

In the majority of cases, though, with painstaking effort, it should be possible to rebuild trust to a certain level. With that statement, though, I want to issue a warning, which is the final thing I want to say to you about trust.

5. It Is Far Easier To Preserve The Trust You Have Gained Than To Have To Rebuild It After It Is Destroyed.

Yes, sometimes trust can be rebuilt. Parents can trust their children after trust has been broken. A betrayed marriage can survive, but the process of rebuilding is usually a long, arduous thing, requiring constant effort. And you never come back to the same spot from which you departed

Conclusion

During the 1982 war in the Faulkland Islands between England and Argentina, the Royal Navy's 3,500-ton destroyer HMS Sheffield was sunk by a single missile fired from an Argentine fighter jet. The incident caused some people to wonder if modern surface warships were obsolete, like sitting ducks for today's sophisticated missiles. A later check, however, revealed that the Sheffield's radar defenses did pick up the incoming missile, and the ship's computer correctly identified it as a French- made Exocet. The missile could easily have been shot down, but the computer was programmed to ignore Exocets as "friendly" since France and Britain are allies. The Sheffield was sunk by a missile it saw coming and could have evaded. It would have been a relatively easy action to have shot it down before it neared the ship.

I suppose, after the ship was sunk, England could have sent a flotilla of ships and divers over to the Faulklands and attempted to raise the HMS Sheffield. It would be a mammoth effort and would cost millions of dollars, but perhaps it could be done. Of course, there would be no way to restore the lives of the men that were lost. The ship would never be the same again. Even if it could be made to float once more, it would probably never again be used in combat.

Brothers and sisters, it may be at this very moment that an "Exocet" missile is pointed right at your home or your family or your Christian testimony. You know what I mean. You are playing around with something or some things that have the potential to take you and the ones you love to the bottom of the ocean. It could destroy everything and everyone you hold dear. So far, you haven't really faced it. Your computer guided radar keeps telling you that everything is OK. The missile is friendly.

Or maybe you are thinking, "Yes, I know I'm playing with something serious here, but if all else fails, things can be rebuilt. The ship can be raised."

Don't count on it! There will be casualties. There always are when trust is broken. And the more important your role, the greater your responsibility to others, the more deadly a breach of trust will be. Don't fool yourself . Now is the time to identify that missile for what it is. It is an enemy missile and it will destroy your life. You must to shoot it down!

George MacDonald writes in his poem Sweet Peril:

Alas, how easily things go wrong!
A sigh too much, or a kiss too long,
And there follows a mist and a weeping rain,
And life is never the same again.

This morning I call you to remember the sacred trusts of your life. As a husband. As a wife. As a father. As a mother. As a teenaged young person. As a church leader. As a teacher. As a citizen. As a Christian. People are counting on you! They trust you! Don't let them down!

Had the missile that sunk the Sheffield been shot down, it would have taken some quick, evasive action. A pause would have been deadly. In this case, for you, if you are close to violating a sacred trust, a pause will be deadly as well.

This morning I call you out of the path of the missile. Please, for the sake of everything you hold dear, shoot it down!

This morning I call you to action. I call you to repentance. I call you to pledge before these people, your brothers and sisters, that you want to rededicate yourself to preserving all the important "trusts" in your life.

So often preachers ask you to respond if something is wrong. That certainly would be appropriate here, but I think its a bit too narrow.

I find it necessary in my own life to recommit myself to faithfulness every day - to say, even if nothing is currently threatening my intergrity,

As I close this morning, I am going to stand here before you and rededicate myself to the sacred trusts that God and people have put in me. Perhaps some of you would like to stand with me. If you would, I invite you to stand right where you are and silently witness either your change of heart in this matter or your continuing pledge to keep fighting the good fight necessary to maintain the sacred trusts of your life. Will you stand with me?

1. Imprimis, Apr 1993. Page 3.

2. Charles Swindoll, Rise & Shine, (Portland, Ore.: Multnomah Press, 1989), p. 198.

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

Copyright © 1996-2008 by The Preacher's Study. Permission is granted to subscribers to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or anyplace beyond the local congregation is prohibited.

All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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