Happy Monday!
Trust is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as the “belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc.”. I think this definition is a bit wanting. For me, trust can not just be a believe. Beyond a certain baseline degree given to all, trust must be built, earned and based on revealed knowledge.
There is an old story of the scorpion and the frog. It tells the tale of a scorpion who meets a frog by the river bank and humbly requests that the frog carries it across the river. The frog is afraid of being stung during the trip and expresses the same to the scorpion. The scorpion however argues that if it stung the frog, both of them would sink and the scorpion would drown since it cannot swim. That made sense to the frog and it agrees to carry the scorpion across. Midway across the river, the scorpion does indeed sting the frog, dooming them both. In its death throes, the frog asks the scorpion why? The scorpion replied, “I can’t help it. It is my nature to sting”.
Today, many people are in a quagmire like the frog simply because they chose to “trust” contrary to the evidence they had glaringly before them. The boyfriend that shouts at you in public while you are still courting and is quick to slap his siblings can be “trusted” to beat you blue and black when you are married to him. The staff that is consistently tardy with his work can be “trusted” to stay the same if rewarded with a promotion. An hungry lion must be “trusted” to kill and eat a antelope. Any other expectation no matter how sincere or heartfelt is folly. Likewise, he who is unfaithful in little, can be “trusted” to be unfaithful with much.
Does this mean I am saying nobody can change? Certainly not. God is not only able to change circumstances. He is also able to change people. He has changed and is still changing me. However, you are not God. Relate with people based on what they do. Not on what you hope or wish they may do.
Enjoy your week!
Follow me on Twitter: @dradebayo
NB: Season 2 of Livinghealth TV is back! Watch brand new #Health101 video on What You Need to Know About Stroke. Kindly remember to subscribe to the channel.