The Relationship between Truth and Trust….

1 Corinthians 12: ⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.  ⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,^[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.^{[b] 11} All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

 ¹² Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by^[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

Having established the idea that the concept of Absolute and Eternal Truth is all but lost in our modern society, how can we measure the effect such a commitment to relative truth has on our ability to trust one another? In the book “Unfashion0able”, Tullian Tchividjian makes the case that “when truth is whatever each individual wants it to be, there’s no common ground on which trust can be established. So trust disappears. And where trust disappears, genuine, healthy community will disappear.” One is left to wonder which comes first, the abandonment of Truth, or the destruction of Trust?

One of the mind boggling phenomena which has taken place in our modern culture is the dissipating role that community plays in human life. We used to sit on our porches having conversations; now we don’t even have front porches. The kitchen table used to be a place of coffee and conversation; now we don’t even eat together as families. We used to leave our doors unlocked hoping neighbors would drop by; now we lock them, dead bolt them, and leave our lights off hoping people will think we are not home and simply stay away. We used to talk to strangers as if we knew them; now we talk to people we know as if they are strangers. We used to go out of our way to talk to people face to face; now we call them on cell phones at times we know they won’t answer so we can leave voice mail instructing people to call us back when we can’t answer so they can leave voice mail in return. We used to car pool to work, borrow sugar just to say hello, and play stick ball with the kids on our street. Now we have four cars for every three family members, run to the 7 11 for our sugar, and play x-box with people we have no desire to know face to face. We have developed into a society of anonymous autonomous beings just trying to find a way to entertain ourselves to such a degree that we don’t have to think about truth and never have to depend on trusting anyone. Amazingly, this type of life has spilled over so dramatically into all areas of our lives  that Life in our churches is aslo enveloped in relative truth and mistrust. We have a tendency to focus on people’s shortcomings, diligently rehearsing people’s mistakes, all the while  pretending that we have it so together that we  can make life work without trusting in and depending on one another.
 

Because of our unwavering commitment to individualism, which translates into a “I know what is best for me” approach to daily life, we have created a world of isolated individuals who view community as a means to an end rather than an end in itself. The communities we choose to invest in are those communities which give me what I need or what I want, and I only join myself to communities that can bring me what I need and what I want. We may begin inside a particular community, but as soon as the day comes when this community is no longer focused on meeting my needs, we simply withdraw ourselves from these communities as easily and as frequently as we change cars, shopping centers, and brands of vitamin water. Since we have decided that the person and views we trust the most are all about me, myself and I, there is really very little place for attaching our-self to those who don’t share our worldview or share the objectives that we have already embraced. I choose the car that I want to drive, park in a community in which I desire to live, attend the church that causes me to feel good about myself, and hang with friends that have an uncanny ability toward meeting my own personal needs for companionship. I seldom invest in you to serve you, choose a church because they need the very gifts I have to offer, drive a car that enables me to invest my money in the poor, or invest in a community that stretches and challenges me to grow. God’s job, your job, everyone’s job, is to contribute to my comfort and my happiness in life. Very seldom do we choose to invest in people and communities that cause us to feel uncomfortable, encourage commitment and sacrifice, and daily create consistent (yet often painful) transformation in our lives. When confronted with change and transformation which threatens comfort and happiness, we will choose the pursuit of comfort and happiness 99.9 percent of the time – and we will often do this in the Name of Jesus!! Is this The Way of the One who had no place to lay his head, learned obedience through what he suffered, and the One we claim to serve?    http://sermonsearch.worshiphousemedia.com/mini-movies/20471/Trust-Fall