We just need to trust each other. . .

There are those who insist that our problems politically, culturally, theologically, and even liturgically are because of a lack of trust.  Curious.  Trusting in each other is the game of the cliched psychology exercise.  Fall back and trust in those around you to catch you before you hit the ground.  Trust but verify is the old Russian proverb Reagan tossed back to the Soviets.  I find it hard to posit the problems of our world, community, family, and church on a lack of trust.  Indeed, the Scriptures seems to warn us about misplaced trust. 

The not so good news prophet Jeremiah warned against it explicitly:  “This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.'” – Jeremiah 17:5.  In the Psalms is the famous aphorism:  “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.” – Psalm 118:8, and, “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.” – Psalm 146:3.  Trust in your self is the ultimate foolishness according to Proverbs:  “Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.” – Proverbs 28:26.  Perhaps we are all stunned by the bluntness of Isaiah:  “Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?” – Isaiah 2:22

As far as I can see, this is not about the obvious warning against trusting self or others apart from Christ for your salvation.  It is a general warning.  Psalm 116:11, states “I said in my alarm, ‘All mankind are liars.'”  This does not mean no one is trustworthy except God but it does lend credence to the need to check things, to verify, and to "test the spirits."  That is in short supply -- even as short as the supply of honesty and integrity.  AI threatens to make this even harder.  How do you sort out what appears to be true and appeals to your own sense of reason or justice against the lies that are regularly paraded as truth?  You cannot trust what you see or hear or read.  The warning is given not to make you trust no one at all but to urge you to test what is before you.  Theologically, this accords with the square of the Word against which all crookedness is exposed.  Culturally, this accords with natural law against which all lies are revealed.  Politically, this accords with the intellect and reason that most sort out the truth.

We have a serious trust problem in our world.  That is an obvious statement.  It is because people do not keep their word and promise and integrity is not even as common as common sense.  The answer is not to start trusting but to have the tools to discern truth from error, fact from fiction.  In our cultural and political world, this means you cannot afford to listen in the echo chamber of your own prejudice.  You must have objective truth to sort out the claims of truth by those who seek your support or your vote and certainly those who take your tax dollar.  In theology and liturgy, this means you must have the tools of God's Word, creed, and confession to keep you from falling trap to those who would deceive you with wit or wisdom apart from the sacred deposit once delivered to the saints.  The folks listening to sermons have to know Scripture and the catholic tradition well enough to sort out what they are hearing -- not just error but also shallow and weak preaching.  In the same way, they must know that liturgy and belief are inseparable and you must know the faith to determine worship that is faithful to it.  How many times don't we rely either on feelings or emotions and what we did growing up to decide if something is true or false?  Lutherans got so accustomed to generic Protestantism in worship that they became embarrassed by and apologized for what their critics called catholic -- not realizing that this is who we are confessionally and not simply by taste or choice.

The lack of trust in our world will not be rectified by calls to trust.  Instead, it will require us to know our facts -- historically, politically, culturally, theologically, and liturgically.  Only then will we know who is speaking truthfully to us and who is not.  When someone walks up to you and asks you to trust them, that ought to scream "warning" to your soul.  Finally, there is only One who cannot lie.  God cannot lie just as the devil cannot tell the truth without turning it into a lie.  We stand in the middle.  When we speak what God has said, we speak unassailable and eternal truth.  When we speak the devil's truth, we echo his lies.  Our country and our Synod do not need people to trust people more.  They need people who are well-equipped to discern truth from error.  Test the spirits.  It is the best advice we have been given.  Have the truth of the Scriptures, the wisdom of natural law, and the informed and reasoned mind to be able to test what we have been told.