Who Can Be Trusted?

One Fourth of July, when I was in elementary school, my favorite uncle tricked my brother and me into setting off all our firecrackers at once. He told us that if we just lit the lead fuse to the entire package, only the first two or three would explode, but the noise would be deafening. The idea of a really loud bang thrilled my brother and me, so we quickly put our demolition plan into motion. Naturally, almost all of the firecrackers exploded, leaving us with only a handful for the remainder of the day. What had been anticipated as a day of fun now became one long boring summer afternoon.

We were furious with our uncle. He had deceived us. Of course, he was ecstatic. He could spend the rest of the day in peace and quiet without the exasperating racket of fireworks going off every few minutes.

The experience left a permanent stain on my childhood memories because it was the first time I remember being deceived by an adult. Up until that moment, I had assumed that you could trust what an adult told you. After my uncle’s deception, however, I grew more suspicious, less trusting, and maybe even a bit cynical about the words that came from the mouths of grown-ups.

I suppose we’ve all had experiences where our trust in a person or institution has been damaged. The anger and frustration of being intentionally misled can be life-changing, and we might even be tempted to never trust again. If you have ever felt this way, you are certainly not alone. People all across our country are struggling with knowing whom to trust when it comes to politics, religion, science, and many other matters of importance.

It is a sign of maturity not to swallow hook, line, and sinker everything authority figures tell us, but in the last several decades our inability to trust our leaders and institutions has increased dramatically. Part of the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of our elected officials and public institutions. It has become almost routine for corporations, institutions, and political leaders to behave in ways that undermine their credibility. Hardly a week goes by that we don’t read of a politician or institutional leader who is under investigation for having engaged in corrupt practices.

While institutions and scandalous politicians certainly deserve some of the blame, another key contributor that undermines trust in our country is social media. Internet chatter often traffics in baseless conspiracy theories that demonizes individuals and institutions. These attacks are usually politically driven and create a toxic environment of suspicion that further erodes our trust in the institutional foundations that make possible a functioning democracy. To make matters worse, for all too many people social media is their main source of information.

A recent Gallup Poll reveals the extent of America’s lost confidence in public institutions and their leaders. I was heartbroken to learn that only 32% of Americans trust organized religion. Important institutional pillars such as public schools and the Supreme Court are trusted by just 26% of the population. Sadly, only around 8% of Americans trust Congress to do what is best for the country. If these trends continue, America’s future will indeed be bleak.

Trust, of course, has to be earned and when institutions or their leaders fail to demonstrate trustworthiness, people have a right and a responsibility to become disenchanted and angry. Jesus’ admonition, “to whom much is given, much is required,” is as true today as it was in ancient times. When public officials or institutions act as if their positions of power have granted them privilege without accountability, the bond of trust between them and the people they serve is severed.

The fragile thread of trust is all that holds relationships together. If that bond of trust is cut, then relationships will fall apart. Until the bonds of trust can be reconnected between the people at large and our political and institutional leaders, then the stability of our country will remain uncertain.

But how do we know whom to trust? Misinformation is so rampant that trying to sift through all the falsehoods and exaggerations can be overwhelming. Are there any reliable indicators that can guide us?

I think there are. Through the years I have observed that there are certain basic qualities that are inherent in trustworthy people. These qualities are seldom expressed in pretentious ways that draw attention. Rather, they are observations we notice in people who go about their work in relatively modest and unassuming ways. I think you’ll agree we desperately need men and women in leadership positions today who are trustworthy. Perhaps these character qualities will help identify who they are.

The first quality that reveals trustworthiness is integrity. A person or institution that has integrity is guided by a moral compass that always points toward honesty, incorruptibility, and truth-telling. According to one definition, “integrity is characterized by sincerity, grace, respect for others, responsibility, hard work, and accountability.” A person of integrity is a complete self and does not need or crave power, fame or wealth to be fulfilled.

A second quality of trustworthiness is competence. Does the person or institution know what they’re talking about? For whatever reason, many of us would rather  believe the juiciest gossip on the internet than competent professionals who have labored a lifetime in disciplined research in their respective fields.

One example comes to mind. In recent years I’ve been dismayed by the number of people who have dismissed climate change as a political hoax. Some deniers may argue that the climate has always been cyclical, with alternating periods of warmer weather followed by cooler, and to some extent that is true. But what alarms scientists is the speed at which the weather conditions are changing. Climatologists, who have spent years measuring and analyzing meteorological data from the past centuries, are in near unanimous agreement that carbon emissions from human activity are the primary culprit in the accelerated warming of the earth. These scientists are incredibly competent in their field, and we ignore them at our peril. Yes, their calculations may be off here and there, but if 99 out of 100 weather forecasters predict it’s going to rain tomorrow, I would at least take an umbrella to work!

A third quality of trustworthiness is humility. Humble people do not need to toot their own horn, but are secure enough to serve the public good without demanding credit. Humble people rarely call attention to themselves but are often self-deprecating. When a biographer interviewed Abraham Lincoln—arguably one of our greatest presidents—and asked him to sketch his life, Lincoln replied, “ There is not much of it.” Such a response reveals Lincoln’s legendary humility. He even dismissed his Gettysburg address as of little consequence, writing, “the world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here.” One of the greatest speeches of all time, and yet Lincoln brushed off the world’s accolades.

Finally, a fourth quality of trustworthiness is consistency. Some people may be able to follow a path of integrity, competence, and humility for a brief period of time, but truly trustworthy people practice these qualities day after day, year after year. These qualities are who they are. It is not hard to spot flash in the pan type personalities who pretend to exhibit qualities of trust but under the slightest pressure revert quickly to mendacity, presumption beyond their field of knowledge, and arrogance. Trustworthy people, on the other hand, are consistent.

Who can we trust to tell us the truth? People of integrity, people who are competent and humble, and people who consistently live out these qualities.