Who do you trust?

If you've read my story you know that I like to dig into situations and problems and find the solution. You have probably guessed that I try to be logical, consider all sides, find the meat, search out the truth....I try to be honest in every situation.

I love a good joke and I like being silly. I've been known to throw snowballs, play horsey with a two-year-old, make faces when I'm supposed to be serious and yes, once and only once (mainly because the mess was just too much to clean up) we had a family water fight in my kitchen. My children were always playing practical jokes and having a good laugh usually took precedence over doing necessary chores.

While having fun is important - being smart is paramount. I feel God calling me to be a beacon of light that will shine the way for others to enjoy life in the same way I have. It's not hard. It's just a matter of being open to making choices that help our lives and avoiding choices that will "ultimately" hurt our lives. ("ultimately" is the operative word here) Some things may seem good right now yet will ruin our futures.

I've been chewing on an issue that bothers me but couldn't get a handle on how to express it to others. I have a problem when people want to use success to gage right or wrong. My youngest son lives in Texas and surprised me last night with an unexpected visit. (Wow! thanks Ken) This morning we were sitting at the table chit chatting. We were talking about pet peeves and he remarked that American Idol really bothered him. "Evaluations about talent should be made by those who can recognize all the necessary elements of truly remarkable talent. That decision should not be left up to the public. Doing so somehow degrades the process."

Thanks Ken. I finally knew how to explain my concerns over anyone willing to judge "right or wrong" by a popularity contest. I don't believe that our forefathers meant for our political process and the future of this country to be decided by popular vote. Popular vote is for electing someone we believe in and trusting him to lead the country into "WHAT IS BEST" for the country. Leading by popularity opens the door for future disasters because popularity doesn't consider long range plans.

I am reminded of an illustration in one of Dad's sermons. "Democracy can only be used in certain situations. It isn't proper to use it everywhere. For example, The democratic process in this country is what allows people to board an airplane. Each passenger has used his freedom to determine when he would leave, what airline he would choose, how long he would stay at his destination and when he would return. That's democracy. We voted for freedom to travel and everyone on the plane is exercising his freedom. But democracy should not be used to fly the airplane. Can you imagine the chaos if the pilot announced that this would be a democratic flight? How crazy and how long would it take to get going if he sent out ballots to determine when and if he was allowed to turn the engines on? Then he sent out another ballot asking which runway to take. And another asking if he should pull back on the wheel at 150 mph or wait until 175mph. And who would want to be on a plane if he sent out ballots saying that we were going to crash into a mountain and do we think he should try to fly around it?"

It is important that we have the ability to trust others. There are some things in our lives that need the expertise of a talented person and we need to let go - trust them and let them do their job. The real problem for Americans is that we don't trust the people around us. And because we haven't made good decisions about the people we've put in control, we spend hours trying to watch over them or worse do their job for them.

Why am I talking about something obviously political rather than dealing with relationships? Because this also speaks to our everyday lives. Do your children trust you? If they don't you can expect trouble as they grow. Most of teen rebellion is due to the fact that teens simply don't trust parents to tell them the truth. Does your spouse trust you? How about your boss? Can your pastor rely on the fact that you will always make decisions in light of your faith?

I spoke with one pastor that was frustrated with the fact that he had to spend just as much time discussing right and wrong with people in their 40's-50's as he did with teens. "By that age shouldn't they have learned something? I need a foundation of strong believers in this church and I don't have it."

Whoa. Trust is important. And like Ken said, some things cannot be decided by amateurs. We live in a country where many lifestyles are based on what feels good rather than on what will make this country stronger. We need strong Christians who are grounded in a desire to find truth. Strong Christians who can spot an unchristian motive and not be moved from their stand for faith. We need strong parents that are determined to raise a family that will illuminate the body of Christ. We need strong individuals who will make decisions based on right and wrong and not just on what's popular or easy or financially profitable. And we need individuals that are determined to be honest, logical, seekers of truth. I want to be friends with that kind of person. I want to know that's a description of my family and I want to put that person in power.

Who do you trust?

God loves you

Debbie