I’m increasingly concerned about the effect of living in an era of cynicism and distrust. Perhaps the most important issue is “who do you trust?” Are we living in a society where no one trusts anyone. Let me list several of the major institutions that serve to organize and bond our society together and see if you cannot immediately suggest at least one major incident in recent times that has shattered people’s ability to place trust in that institution.
TAKE THE TEST
- Financial and investment institutions.
- Government—locally and nationally.
- Medical—doctors, hospitals, research.
- Educational institutions—elementary, high school, college, graduate.
- Justice—police, courts, lawyers, etc.
- Insurance—both private and corporate.
- Corporations—large and small.
- Religion—congregations, denominations, interfaith.
- Charities—both in collection and
- Social Service agencies—working with all age groups.
- Social media— TV and radio networks, internet groups, newspapers.
- Contractors—Builders, repair groups, architects, engineers.
THE CHALLENGE
I’ve named a dozen, but you could add to the list. How do you live in a healthy manner in a society in which scandals and exposes have shattered people’s ability to trust? For you who either work in or participate in a religious institution, how do you help people learn to navigate through this maze of distrust and not become isolated and alienated? That really is a major challenge for we who are adherents to a faith that insists on our being part of a community. While I don’t agree with those who want to claim to be spiritual but not religious, I certainly understand their response.
BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED
While we need to make our political decisions and participate in many of the institutions that glue our society together, most of us are not in a position to significantly alter people’s trust in those institutions. What we can do is seek to affect people’s experience of trust in our congregations and through that, alter their core attitude as they engage with the larger society. Imagine the impact if the people of our churches and congregations began to develop a central core of trust in themselves and their God that grounded them as they live in this society. In the next few blogs
WE ARE NOT ALONE
Our faith begins with an act of trust and continues to demonstrate how people of faith must demonstrate trust first in God, next in the community of the faithful, and finally in responding to the society in which we live.
