A Matter of Trust

The Lord detests lying lips,
    but he delights in people who are trustworthy.

-- Proverbs 12:22

“With lies you may go ahead in the world,” says the Russian proverb, “but you can never go back.”

It’s a reminder that credibility and character are important. And that seems to be the public’s message to the news media following several high-profile scandals.

For the week of March 18, 2019, CNN — a network long criticized as purveyors

so-called fake news — lost a remarkable 27 percent of its primetime viewers from the same period in 2018. About four years earlier, Brian Williams lost his job as anchor of NBC Nightly News after fabricating reports related to the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina. And in 2004, USA Today’s Pulitzer-nominated correspondent Jack Kelley quit after he was accused of concocting source material and writing largely fictional articles.

These breaches of the public trust have consequences. A 2018 Gallup poll reveals that 62 percent of U.S. adults believe that the news they see in newspapers, on television or hear on the radio is biased, and 44 percent say it’s inaccurate.

Once you’ve lost your credibility through lies, deception and betrayal, how can you ever retrieve it? That’s the question King Solomon seems to pose to the media — and to us — through Proverbs 11:3: “People who can’t be trusted are destroyed by their own dishonesty.” And there are several ways we can hurt ourselves and others through our questionable words and deeds. For example, flattery is a form of lying since it tells people what they want to hear — regardless of its veracity. We can also be dishonest through exaggeration. Likewise, cheating (or fudging the truth so we come out on top) is a particularly serious issue since it can impact personal and business relationships. And when we lie, we break our promises. Jesus touched on this by directing his followers to avoid the common practice of using God’s name to lend credibility to their words.

Such dishonesty is like a heavy chain that weighs us down and holds us back. But the truth — and the clear conscience that accompanies it — is liberating. However, walking the walk after talking the talk can be difficult. And conveying honesty and integrity can even cost us in certain situations. As Christ-followers, however, we must always reflect the words and deeds of our Creator, who’s always truthful, faithful and trustworthy.

“God is not a man, so He doesn’t lie,” we read in Numbers 23:19. “He’s not human, so he doesn’t change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”

That’s what’s said about Him. So what do our words and deeds say about us?