Recently, I made an appointment with a friend to meet at 2 o’clock the next afternoon to review some important activities we were doing. It was an important meeting for me. I rescheduled my entire day so I could be at the appointment. However, when 2 o’clock came, I was left alone, waiting for my friend. He never did come to the meeting. He didn’t even call or text me that he could not make the meeting. I had trusted him, but he let me down.
My associate never did explain why he did not come to the meeting. I discovered that he was playing a game, something he thought was more important. I learned that day that I could not trust him to keep his word and fulfill his commitment. I wasted a day of my life!
Trust is not common in our world. Government leaders at times betray the trust we place in them. Business leaders in large corporations sometimes betray the trust people place in them by being dishonest and corrupt. Trust is needed in all relationships. Often marriages are destroyed because there is a lack of trust. A lack of trust will destroy any relationship.
Trust is absolutely essential in ministry. It is especially true for those of us who work with Book of Hope. If people cannot trust you, they won’t follow you nor will they respect you. Being trustworthy is essential for pleasing God and it is necessary for building a team of workers.
Trust is the belief that you can depend on each other. It is the conviction that you know someone will do what he says and he will do it when he says he will do it.
The question is: Am I a trustworthy person? Can others rely on me without being disappointed?
Here are six qualities I have seen in the people I have learned to trust.
1. Consistency. People who are trusted are predictable. They are always the same, regardless of circumstances. Trustworthy people are dependable. They don’t make excuses. They always keep their word.
2. Convictions. Trusted people live by strong convictions. They have moral and behavioral standards that they will not violate. Their lives are marked by integrity, honesty and truthfulness. There is purity of life. They don’t say one thing but do the opposite.
3. Competence. Before I trust someone with a task, I want to be sure that person is capable of doing the task. It would be unfair for me to trust someone who I knew was incapable of doing the task.
4. Caring. I have difficulty trusting a person who is egocentric, that is, someone who is always thinking about himself. I have no trouble trusting someone who I know genuinely cares about me. If I think you love me and genuinely care about me, it is easy for me to trust you.
5. Communication. I have always had a hard time trusting people who were secretive and unwilling to share information with me. People who are not open with me leave me with the feeling that they have another agenda that I am not aware of. I cannot trust someone who is not open and candid with me, and who leaves me in the dark.
6. Calm. I trust people who are steady and not always agitated. If someone is constantly changing from emotional highs to emotional lows, I don’t know whether or not it is a good time to trust that person. People who are calm while everyone else is confused, people who are steady while everyone else is unsettled and people who are not rattled by unexpected events, inspire trust. I feel this kind of person knows what to do. That inspires confidence and trust.
The question then is this: are you trustworthy? Forget about other people for a moment. Can people trust you? Your leadership and your entire ministry depends on this.
Some people are flashy speakers and able to impress people from the platform, but because they are self-centered or dishonest with money, people don’t trust them. Other people are highly educated and capable of doing challenging work assignments, but because they are insensitive to others, people don’t trust them.
Examine the six qualities. Rate yourself on each of them. Ask God to help you become a person people can trust. Your ministry depends on it!