trustworthy

     A defense attorney was cross-examining a police officer during a felony trial.  It went like this:

Q:  Officer, did you see my client fleeing the scene?

A:   No sir, but I subsequently observed a person matching the description of the offender running several blocks away.

Q:  Officer, who provided this description?

A:   The officer who responded to the scene.

Q:  A fellow officer provided the description of this so-called offender.  Do you trust your fellow officers?

A:   Yes sir, with my life.

Q:  WITH YOUR LIFE?  Let me ask you this, then, officer -- do you have a locker room in the police station -- a room where you change your clothes in preparation for your daily duties?

A:   Yes sir, we do.

Q:  And do you have a locker in that room?

A:   Yes sir, I do.

Q:  And do you have a lock on your locker?

A:   Yes sir.

Q:  Now why is it, officer, IF YOU TRUST YOUR FELLOW OFFICERS WITH YOUR LIFE, that you find it necessary to lock your locker in a room you share with those officers?

A:  You see, sir, we share the building with a court complex, and sometimes defense attorneys have been known to walk through that room.

Sometimes it's best not to pursue a particular line of questioning!

But it's true that there are some people we can't trust at all and there are others we can trust with our very lives.  Our level of trust is based upon how someone has proven themselves to be faithful in the past.  As you probably know from personal experience, it takes months and years to establish a high level of trust, but only a moment to destroy it.  Because people do let us down, we are sometimes made to feel that there is no one we can trust.  But fortunately, there is always someone.

"Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.  When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.  Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,  the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them -- the LORD, who remains faithful forever." (Psa. 146:3-6, NIV)

Father, thank you for being faithful, for proving over and over that you are indeed a God we can trust with our very lives.  While there are others who have let us down, you never have.  For that we praise you!  May our trust in you be reflected in our willingness to allow you to guide us this and all the days in our lives.

-alan smith