Friday, January 11, 2008

Character Moment #15 – January 9, 2008

Arthur Friedman once said…

"Men of genius are admired.
Men of wealth are envied.
Men of power are feared, but
only men of character are trusted."[1]

To be a person others can trust is an admirable thing. We all know those people in our lives that we can’t trust. It is typically because their words and their actions are inconsistent with each other. They tend to say things one way and act entirely different.

Trust is so key to our relationships in life. Many of you will one day marry, and trusting your spouse is key to a successful, lifelong marriage.

Over Christmas break, I went back to Kansas and celebrated my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. It was a special day. To celebrate 50 years of marriage a lot has to happen. First, you have to live that long, and some couples don’t make it. Then, if you are fortunate to live that long, you have to be fortunate enough to endure the various bumps in the road that life brings to relationships. My folks shared that they always tried their best to communicate to one another. They also said that they trusted each other fully.

Think of your friendships here at school. Your closest friends are those you trust the most. To be trusted as a friend, a son, or a daughter, an employee, or a student is so critical for success in life. The most successful people, I believe, are those who are the most trusted.

If you have things in your life that cause others not to trust you, ask God to remove them. David did in Psalm 139: 23-24…

“23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”[2]

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