Reasons To Not Trust Any Human Being Absolutely

Reasons To Not Trust Any Human Being Absolutely 

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

St. Bridget Catholic Church, Minneapolis, MN

Thursday, March 16, 2023

“Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the Lord. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; In the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit” (Jeremiah 17:5-8).

In ordinary human conversations, we often hear the expression, “Don’t trust anyone,” or “No body can be trusted.” As we can see, the assertion to not trust any human being is biblically based. But does it mean that I cannot and should not trust even my mom, dad, brothers, sisters, close friends, fellow priests, my staff in the office? Does it mean that married people cannot trust themselves? Does it mean that parents cannot and should not trust their children and vice versa? Not so fast! Aside from family members, we have met people who are indeed trustworthy; people whose yes is yes and whose no is no. We have friends and colleagues at work that have proven to be reliable and worthy of trust. So, there are human beings out there who can be trusted. But the Bible is laying a curse on anyone who trusts in human beings. What does it mean? It means do not trust any one absolutely, perfectly and unreservedly. The person worthy of such a trust is God alone. 

Why is absolute trust in any human being a serious error in judgment? I have two reasons: one, existential reason, and two, the moral factor. Existential reason is the fact that we come and go. In his Five Ways to Prove the Existence of God, the great St. Thomas Aquinas writes in the Third Way, which he terms, Possibility and Necessity, “We find in nature things that are possible to be and not to be:” contingent beings.” He adds, “It is impossible for contingent beings always to exist.” The human race, like all created things, are contingent beings. It is impossible for us to always exist. Describing the nature of our earthly existence, the Apostle James says, “You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears” (James 4:14). We are like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Because the human person is a puny creature, it cannot and should not be trusted absolutely. Because we are not able to achieve immortality, none of us can be trusted absolutely. We are here today and tomorrow we are gone. During my mother’s earthly existence, I relied a lot on her prayers. I trusted in her prayers because she prayed for me endlessly. As a priest, I would kneel down before her and she would lay her hands on my head and say lengthy prayers for me. Even if I wasn’t praying as much as I should, one thing I assured myself of was that my mother was praying for me. I built my confidence and hope on the very fact that my mother is mentioning my name and offering me to God whenever she prays, which is a lot. But one day, I got a call from my elder brother and the heart wrenching news was, “Father, Mama has died.” The thought of her not being around anymore to support me with her prayers deeply hurt and bothered me. I know she is still praying for me in heaven; the communion of saints tells me she is still praying for me, however, it is by faith that I accept such. Obviously, it is not the same as kneeling before her and hearing her voice as she prays for me with her two hands placed on my head. 

There is no earthly immortality for anyone. The man or woman you are building your earthly edifice upon, could be no more. If they are in powerful positions and use their power and connection to protect you from getting into trouble, they could lose such positions. They could be transferred to another position. They could retire. They could die suddenly. Things can quickly change. When that happens, all the mighty edifice you erected upon them will come down crashing. Trust people, but not absolutely!

Moral factor is the second reason why trusting a human being extremely and thoroughly is a very wrong move and a bad idea. Even a saint can stagger, wobble and fail.  The consequence of Original Sin is real. Our nature is wounded due to the sin of our first parents— Adam and Eve. According to the great scholar, St. Thomas Aquinas, Original Sin produced four wounds: the wound of ignorance, the wound of malice, the wound of weakness, and the wound of concupiscence. All of these make it onerous for every human being to be sinless and spotless in every single way. The inclination to the good of virtue is diminished in each of us. In some persons, the will to do the good is hardened by evil thereby making it more difficult for them to engage in good actions. 

Moral factors are a strong reason why no one should be trusted absolutely. Stories abound of parents who murdered their children and children who murdered their parents. There are lots of stories of people who betrayed their friends. What about people in marriage? Marriage is the most intimate relationship, yet, married people don’t always keep the promise they made to each other. Human nature is hunted by Original Sin. A good example of betrayal is that of Julius Caesar and Brutus and Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot. Consider the words of Caesar to his friend Brutus: “Et Tu Brute.” Imagine the emotional pain and the indescribable shock of Caesar. In the famous literature from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar play, a group of murderers- including Brutus- ganged up to murder Julius Caesar. As they were stabbing him, Caesar saw his friend, Brutus and staggered towards him, appealing to him, but Brutus stabbed him. In his infinite shock, Caesar said, “Et Tu Brute, which means “You too Brutus?” Afterwards, he fell to the ground and died. 

Don’t trust any human being absolutely. Why? Because we don’t persist in existence. We don’t live forever here. We come and go. So, don’t absolutely trust someone you are going to lose one day. The person can either die leaving you behind, or you can die leaving the person behind. The fact that we are all wounded is another reason to not trust anyone absolutely. Ambition, quest for power, honor, pleasure, and wealth have driven many to murder, give up, and betray even the most intimate of all relationships. Once more, the person worthy of absolute trust is God alone. God is immortal. He does not die. He does not wear out. He does not grow old. He is unchangeable. Secondly, God is incorruptible. More to it, God is love. His essence and nature is love. Eternally and infinitely, God wills the good of the other— you and me, and has already done something about it. To a certain degree, trust people who have proven themselves trustworthy, not absolutely. Only the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob deserves such trust. In John’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Have faith in God and also have faith in me.” Another way of saying it is, “Trust God and God’s Son, Jesus Christ to the highest and greatest degree. As for those you love, you can only trust them relatively.