The online dictionary defines it as a firm belief or confidence in the honesty, integrity, reliability, justice, etc. of another person or thing; faith;
Everyone desires to be trusted. I personally think trust should be earned, and can be lost, but re-gained over time. Most people would agree with me there, but one thing many people forget is forgiveness. Its a vitally important part of the equation which liberates people from their past and allows them to move on.
Now of course forgiveness, just like trust, must be earned, deserved, and desired in order to be received. Don't hold mistakes over some one's head and continually punish them for their past. People make mistake, and they have to live with the consequences, but if you made the decision to stick by them while dealing with these consequences, its implied that you forgive them. Holding it over their head only hinders them from moving forward.
In the bible, Jesus tells us a story or a parable about the servant and forgiveness. It goes like this:
One day, there was a man who owed the King of the lands ten thousand talents. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything. ' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.When that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred Denali. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back. 'But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. (Matthew 6)
This story shows us a lot about the character of Christ and the example he sets for us, but it also teaches us a life lesson. Don't expect to be forgiven if you can't forgive those who have wronged you. Loosing trust is hard for some people and pasts haunt many of us. Never give up on regaining the trust you once had and never deprive someone of regaining the trust they once held. Learn to forgive. We see too many people in today's society walking around with their past hanging over their heads because they haven't been forgiven or can't forgive themselves.
