On Sunday, I said trust is the "emotional glue" that holds a team together.  In my own life experience I have concluded that everything in life comes down to trust and control.  When we trust we don't try to control, and when we don't trust we always try to control.  That's true whether we're talking about our spouses, our children, our co-workers, even brothers and sisters in the Lord.  In pre-marital counseling I have often likened trust to a "bank account."  Every time we carry out a trustworthy act, we make a "deposit."  Every time we fail to act in a trustworthy manner we make a "withdrawal."  As with any bank account when the account gets "overdrawn," there's trouble.  So, how do we build trust? 

We could offer many responses to that question, but for this post let's focus on one:  We build trust by being consistent, by doing what we say, and saying what we're going to do.  Jesus put it this way:  Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much."  Trust is built through hundreds of small acts, not through one big one.  As we are faithful in the little things:  showing up when we say we will, remembering to buy the milk on the way home from work, remembering to text or call when we've made it to a destination--and we said we'd text or call.  Those are "little" things, but just as a dollar added to a dollar added to a dollar adds up over time, so does our "trust account" grow when we are consistently trustworthy in the small matters of life.

Since we're talking about building teams, about serving together this week, consider this:   are you already on a team (your family, a LIFE group, a study group at school, etc...) that needs you to step up in the trust department, so the team will be able to serve more effectively?  Remember, the best way to help others be more trustworthy is to demonstrate trustworthiness in your own life!  Why not take a moment right now to review your trust relationships, your "teams" and see how you can become more consistent, how you can build trust as you move forward.

Let's pray:  Heavenly Father, Thank you so much for always being trustworthy, for ALWAYS doing what you say and saying what you do.  Fill us with the Holy Spirit that we may be trustable in our lives today.  This we pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.