The Way of Implicit Trust

Implicit trust – the concept – is the place to get to. It trusts at all times until that trust is, of course, betrayed. Then the trust is necessarily severed. It cannot survive; certainly not the way it was. But the person who trusts implicitly is able to sever their trust without a moment’s resentment – they can also re-trust if and when that’s warranted.

There is hardly a more poignant issue pertaining to life in this world than trust. Everything hinges on it, simply because everyone relies so heavily on relationships—whether horizontally with people and our world, or vertically with God.

Conditions of Trust

These were ‘hit on’ in the initial paragraph. We cannot trust people who betray our trust and prove unfaithful to us. It doesn’t mean we have to feel nasty toward them; quite the contrary. This is because we can understand that for them, their character and our mutual circumstances meant that they made a choice to betray us. Sometimes they only understand the betrayal afterwards, when we mention it to them.

The Power ‘With’ Us – the Betrayed

The pleasant way of implicit trust, i.e. of dealing that feels no guilt for simply doing what is just, is very empowering.

Where people betray our trust flagrantly there is no encumbrance on us that trust must be returned. They can try and restore our trust. But it is our choice to trust or trust again, for we’re not compelled to trust.

Still, Implicit Trust – the Panacea

When we feel the empowerment of not being forced to trust those who don’t warrant our trust we are freed to invest in implicit trust.

It’s that free-flowing relational faith that is mentioned above. There are no barriers to this trust for those we trust.

Notwithstanding the sweeping ‘conditions of trust’ explained further up, the more purely we can trust in our normal day to day lives, the more we will enjoy life—it’s really that simple.

© 2010 S. J. Wickham.