By Dr. Dennis Acop
Whether we are mindful of it or not, there is one thing the world revolves around with. That one thing is TRUST. Trust is defined as a ‘firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone’. Reliability is further defined as ‘the quality of being trustworthy or performing consistently well’. Truth and ability are quite self-explanatory while strength is the ‘capacity to withstand great pressure’. Trust is very basic in the scheme of things. Its fundamental nature lies at the core foundation of what humans take for granted to be self-evident in their everyday lives. Yet trust comes in different forms, shapes, and sizes. At times, trust seems most visible. Other times, it seems not and even forlorn. We tend to understand trust in either its secular or non-secular meaning. But trust is actually both. Yet converges into really just one. Professionals and businessmen may view trust relative to efficient deliverers of end results. But those with faith view trust as being ordered to the Creator of the universe which brings about fulfillment even in the absence of human intervention.
The secular illustrations of trust can be found in our everyday lives across all dimensions. We trust in nature that it will always bring out the sun so that we can enjoy our lives; and the moon alternatively so we can rest our tired bodies. We trust in the instincts of self-preservation protecting us from the annihilations of war and diseases like the pandemic. We trust that people in general will have families and jobs and that productiveness will ever endure. We almost trust that we will always be around. But our most fundamental trust issue lies in the idealistic desire that the confidence we give to other human beings will never be broken. Be it in the arena of battle, the boardroom, wardrooms, associations, or romantic relationships. For relations are essentially built on trust. Without trust, human interactions inevitably crumble. Complete trust or confidence in someone is called faith. Losing faith is when the trust is broken. And with human beings, it is almost impossible to bring back trust once it is lost. It will take almost another lifetime for trust to be rebuilt and believed again. And both the victim and violator of trust suffer from the breakup. That trust is the core foundation of relationships is best illustrated by the end results of its betrayal: separations, divorces, getting fired, contract dissolutions, crime, rebellions, and even wars.
But trust is not always just a human issue too. There is in fact an effective way out of trust issues. For trust has a more perfectly complete dimension. And the best illustration of this is still that found in human relationships. The kind that does not limit itself to merely human contract but a covenant with the divine. It is too limiting to think of man’s capacities as merely scientific or cerebral. For man has multiple dimensions including his capacity for divine intervention to perfect his imperfect self. What is impossible for man is not impossible with God. For trust is likewise the fruit of not only having faith in someone but ‘having a strong belief in God based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof’. God is love. And love is that ‘intense feeling of deep affection’, that gentle fondness that cannot be explained but only sensed. Trust and faith go hand in hand. Faith completes trust. And there can be no trust without faith. Trust without faith is imperfect and will fall. Trust with faith is invincible because it carries along with it the crucible of Love.