A lawyer with no experience in corporate law takes a case involving it. His advice is entirely wrong and his client loses the case. A doctor requires extensive tests and procedures that have no relation to his  patient’s condition. The respective client and patient suffered because they had trusted them.

 

If this happened to you, would you go back to that lawyer about a serious legal issue or to that doctor for medical care? I think the answer is an easy one. You wouldn’t think twice. You’d look for someone else…someone you could trust to tell you the truth.

 

Trust is important. Since we can’t know or do everything, sometimes we have to depend on others,  and that’s where things can turn sour. A mechanic takes us for a ride, the repairman doesn’t fix the problem, a car dealer doesn’t honor his warranty. And when they aren’t true to you…why ever trust them again?

 

Whoever can be trusted with little can be trusted with much. ¹

 

Trust and truth go hand in hand. And as Jesus taught, if we can’t trust someone to be truthful in the little things, we can’t trust that person to be truthful in the big things. This is especially important when it comes to how each of us shares the truth of our faith and the truth of Scripture.

 

I once heard a pastor speak about wine and he said that in 2003, there would be more than 200,000 alcohol-related deaths; alcohol is exponentially far worse than smoking; and alcoholism is not a disease because a disease involves a germ that must be caught.

 

He also said that in the Old Testament, the Hebrew for new wine, which he said was always mentioned in a positive light, was the word “tirosch”, which meant nothing more than grape juice and was never, ever intoxicating. And I thought to myself, Is this true? Can I trust this information?

 

Whoever is dishonest with little will be dishonest with much. ²

 

After research, I discovered his information was false. The number of deaths while still significant, was far less and had been generally declining since 1998. Smoking-related deaths were about five times higher. Medical organizations referred to alcoholism as a disease, and none defined disease as requiring a germ that must be caught. As for that Hebrew word, I found no Biblical evidence that supported the pastor. ³

 

So what does all this mean? It means we must be careful about what we say, share, teach and preach. It doesn’t matter if we stand in the pulpit or sit on a pew. We cannot be so caught up in our message that truth is blurred. Others depend on us to clearly speak the truth. And that becomes critical if we claim, as that pastor did, that “no Bible believing, Spirit controlled child of God” would disagree.

 

Like a lawyer, doctor, or pastor…each of us…owes a standard of care to those around us, one that ensures they can trust what we tell them. And by the way, that standard has already been set: Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. ⁴

 

Ciloa Forever!

 

Chuck

  

Chuck Graham is Founder and Executive Director of Ciloa, an international ministry devoted to sharing God’s encouragement and teaching others how to “encourage one another as long as it is called Today!” He is also an author, speaker, teacher, and encourager. Chuck and his wife, Beverly, live in Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA. You can learn more about Chuck and Ciloa at www.Ciloa.org.

 

Footnotes: (1) Read Luke 16:10a. (2) Read Luke 16:10b. (3) Please do not take any portion of what I have written as an expression of any stance regarding the drinking of wine. That has nothing to do with the point being made here.(4) Read 2 Timothy 2:15.

 

Pictures: Banner: Trust Your Pilot, photo by Chuck Graham, 2018; (1) Chuck Graham, photo by Beverly Graham.