Before we trust anyone or anything, we consider the source.

 We do not want to:

• Eat food from a garbage can
• Buy a car from a junk store
• Drink water from a lake filled with salt

We usually trust what was good, safe, and trustworthy in the past.

However, if anything has not been good, safe, or trustworthy, we do not trust them now.

The same applies to people.

Have they:

• Made many mistakes? If so, we will not ask their help.
• Proved themselves trustworthy? If so, we usually trust them.
• Hurt others? If so, we fear they may hurt us.

Consider the source is often a warning.

It tells us to be careful.

• That person has been wrong in the past.
• He cannot be taken seriously.
• Do not believe him.
• He may be a wolf in sheep’s clothing or a snake in the grass.

If we want others to trust us, we must prove worthy of their trust.

We build a reputation by every:

• Choice we make
• Action we take
• Word we say
• Attitude we show

May others always know us as a source worthy of their trust – as good as our word.

“What a wonderful God we have—he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. And why does he do this? So that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and comfort God has given us” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 TLB).

Thanks to Becky Nash Rowe for the suggestion

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