Where Do We Place Our Trust?
Currency in the United States declares, “In God we trust.” But do we? Most people who follow Jesus would say the same thing. But do they?
Is In God we trust a lifestyle choice or an empty platitude?
Consider these areas for many people place their trust:
Money
In our materialistic society today, most people put their trust in their bank account. They trust money more than their Creator and Savior. The more money they have, the more content they feel.
Yet money isn’t the answer. God is. Money is perishable (Matthew 6:19-20). Our right standing with God lasts forever. That’s what matters—in both this life and for eternity.
We see this illustrated in Jesus’s parable about the rich man.
The man has a record-breaking harvest but doesn’t have enough space to store all the grain. He decides he’ll tear down his barns to build bigger ones. Then he can sit back and take life easy. But none of that matters because that night he dies (Luke 12:16-21).
His focus was wrong. He put his trust in wealth and not in God. When it comes to money, can we truly proclaimed that in God we trust?
This doesn’t imply that money is bad. But accumulating money shouldn’t be the goal. Instead, money provides the means to live and a way to bless others.
Politics
A second area is politics. In many countries, it seems that no matter which party wins an election half the people are happy and the other half are upset.
Those who are happy run the risk of placing their trust in the outcome, in their party. They assume that will fix everything. They trust in politics.
Those who are unhappy adopt an attitude of remorse and panic. They think the world is falling apart. They trusted in politics to bring about a better tomorrow, politics failed them.
Instead, all people—on both sides—should adopt a posture that in God we trust.
Government
Closely related to politics is government. Do we depend on government to solve our problems and take care of us? Or do we depend on God for our provisions?
Yes, we need a government in place to maintain order and facilitate the rules to govern society and the infrastructure to facilitate commerce and trade, but we’re foolish to trust in government to save us.
Instead, we must remember that in God we trust.
Healthcare
Let’s next consider healthcare.
Who do we trust more to keep us healthy, doctors or God? When we’re sick, do we first go to God for our healing or a healthcare professional?
When we pray about a health scare, do we ask God to heal us? Or do we ask God “to guide the doctors in what to do,” a prayer that requires little faith?
There’s nothing wrong with going to the doctor or seeking medical advice when we need it. But too often people do this without giving God much thought at all. Or they make him more of an afterthought in the process.
Consider King Hezekiah. He prayed, and God healed him (2 Kings 20:5).
Circumstances
We may also place our trust in our standing or situation.
This includes the power of our job and the prestige we enjoy in society. It may be our neighborhood where we live or our home where we live. Both can provide security and safety.
Other considerations are our possessions. Too many people accumulate things as a sign of accomplishment or in an attempt to realize happiness (Matthew 6:19-20).
Yet all these things are fleeting. We may lose our job or reputation. We may be forced to move. Our possessions can break, or someone may steal them.
Though it isn’t wrong to pursue these things, we should hold them all loosely, knowing that they can be gone in an instant. Instead, let’s place our trust in God, and not transient pursuits like our position, prestige, or possessions (Psalm 20:7).
In God We Trust
The prescription for all this is to take the biblical approach and put our trust in God and not in other things.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.
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