What can we trust?

Trust is a key ingredient in the well-being of individuals and communities. Whether we’re talking about global responses to water security, shared values across nations, or questions of how much confidence to have in local government, we start with a basic trust that progress and working together toward a greater demonstration of good are possible. The fact that intelligent, unselfish good is obtainable is one reason we put trust in business ventures, scholarly pursuits, well-being strategies, and spiritual or religious endeavors. 

We trust others to follow through with their commitments, and those who do, we value as trustworthy. And yet, even when trust is broken or we go through painful experiences, the conviction that good is powerful and real is the reason we take the difficult road of working to gain back trust—in others, in institutions, in ourselves. 

The highest trust is putting our faith not in human circumstances or other people but in God and divine goodness. When we place our confidence in God, as the Bible encourages, we find stability and safety and can act accordingly. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5, 6, New Living Translation).