Are you familiar with the statement for the heading of this post? I’m sure you have at least heard it from your friend, or a family member. Maybe not saying it to you but saying it about someone else. Thinking further on it, I’m almost certain you have made a statement like that before, right?

I want us to try and work out some issues here, so stay with me for a few minutes, after all you would finish in a few minutes.

Trust; what does the word even mean? I looked up the word from merrian-webster dictionary, the online version and the first explanation is assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something and one in which confidence is placed. Then I ask myself, why do men find it so difficult to trust one another? It beats my mind many times; a girl will look into her friend’s face and tell her, she doesn’t even trust her own parents, how much more her i.e. her friend. Some even go to the extent of saying I don’t even trust myself, and you think I can trust you? Don’t even start by trying to lie to me :) that you aren’t like that. Then again, the same man says he puts his trust in God. Amazing! I always wonder why we say that, but lets get some facts right. Of course man knows God is there for him, God loves him so much that He even died for him, God is someone who wouldn’t say to other people the secrets you tell Him. Think about it for a second; we know all those things about God and more (sure I can’t say everything) that certainly makes us put our trust in Him, and we do hold on to Him. But here’s the thing, maybe you and I can’t put a finger our trust for our fellow man, it is always different with everybody. Certainly you wouldn’t trust someone who you just met, and tell him or her all that ever happened to you and probably all you ever did. Like our definition says, one in who confidence is placed. Would you put confidence in someone you just met in a few days? Definitely not!

Sometimes, it I think we can call it human nature. Your mind tells you that you can’t trust in man because he is not faithful, not truthful, he could break your heart, betray you… in short your mind is saying you definitely can’t place confidence in man. Maybe too, we make assumptions on people the moment we set our eyes on them. Don’t look at these words as if I’m the only one who makes assumptions on people, I’m sure you do. You meet a guy in your community and before he even approaches, you start looking at his clothes, assuming where he comes from, whether he is rich or poor. I don’t blame us! It’s human nature but certain things have to change! If you agree with me to this point, let’s continue; if you don’t there’s no need to go on reading. “I make up my mind on men seconds after meeting them, and I very rarely change it.” This statement by Margaret Thatcher could sum it all up. Certainly if you assume you know someone, and for the purpose of our post, let’s say you assume the person is evil, maybe evil is too strong a word,:) but you have a mentality that the person is a bad person; just like Margaret Thatcher, I believe it would be difficult to change that perception about the person, unless “God happens” between the two minds. Of course we don’t only have those kinds of perceptions on just one guy. It’s a whole bunch of people. I’m so sure you, even reading this, are imagining and creating a certain perception of me. Like I said, I don’t blame us, it’s human nature but certain things have to change!

Let me share a recent experience I had. It has to do with someone I knew a long, long time ago. Of course, like you, I had already developed a certain perception of the person, a certain mindset even though we never spoke to each other and it wouldn’t have changed if God hadn’t “happened” between the two of us. By some mysterious way, we met ( I have already talked about how we met, if you want to know more check out Three days with Joy in the search engine, you would find an article on it) and now barely I week, believe me when I tell you, I have so much trust and confidence in her beyond a level, that surpasses both our understandings. That’s why I want to ask you, if it’s possible to trust someone barely a week after meeting them and you can tell each other things that surely you won’t say to someone in long years after knowing yourselves? Probably you are thinking, Edwin, this is certainly one of those exceptions about trusting people. You know what I think? You sure give yourself and that strange fellow a chance to talk, I’m sure you would see a different person after. I didn’t say talk, I said TALK!

Surely that’s what happened between Joy and I, we TALKED. Well, now reflecting I’m shocked at the kind of perceptions I had about her; she’s far different from that. If you ask me now, I would (and I sure do) certainly tell her EVERYTHING. I wish there was another word for everything, but everything. If there was someone I would call right now if there was something whether important or not, I would call Joy, a woman I just really got to know in six days. :) You think it’s impossible? You know what…that’s enough STOP ASSUMING; there’s a lot more to love and trust in people than you and I can imagine.