Trust is the currency of relationships. When it is strong and growing even stronger, the dynamic between two individuals becomes so great that it usually defies definition and comprehension. Trust; a mix of faith lived out in reality combined and fused with the components of communication, openness, and shared compassion.
When I look at where I see robust examples of this currency, I often find it in situations where the people are not in positions of strength. I see stunning examples in the old, especially towards the young. I discover bonds possessed by the poor that those who have economic wealth and power desperately seek. I wonder about the explicit connection between a child and his or her caregiver that in the course of nurture and development becomes something that cannot be broken.
The simple, and often not accurate comment, is that trust only come with deprivation. There is much more to this currency than meet the eye. The fact remains that we often find it difficult to believe that others do not want to steal or exploit the very things we hold that we believe have material or human value. So, people who have much often trust little, give little, and live little.
So where does that leave those who have and carry trust?
The difficult answer that reflects the condition of life around us is this; people who trust are open to being exploited. “Banks foreclose on the farms of the poor, or else the poor lose their shirts to crooked lawyers.” (Proverbs 13.23)
Does this mean that we should not trust? Absolutely not!
Trust is the currency of relationship between human beings as well as between our selves and the Divine. One of the mysterious gifts we receive from God is trust. God trusts us with gifts of grace, love, compassion, mercy, and hope. God trusts that we will give away what we received so that we can accept even more. In the present, trust comes with a burden. Looking forward, trust is the reality of faith which is the birth of hope.
