trusting people

John 2

23 Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him.

24 But Jesus didn't trust them,

because he knew human nature.

25 No one needed to tell him what mankind is really like.

Some may think this passage says we shouldn't trust people.

Jesus knew what people were really like because He is God – He knows the deal with everyone.

Jesus knew that all of us are sinful people – ain't none of us perfect.

(And let's remember the only perfect person who ever lived we ended up killing!)

Jesus knew that we are all capable of some of the best, most selfless moments.

At the same time, ALL of us have a dark side – ALL of us.

I think what John is telling us here is Jesus knew not to “put all His eggs in a human's basket”.

Jesus is someone who is always kind, loving, understanding, patient, tolerant, faithful, while delighting in the uniqueness of each of us.

While at the same time, Jesus knew that the only one He could completely & utterly trust was God.

(Let's not get into the Trinity right now – let's just go with this.)

Perhaps we should take our cues from Jesus.

Maybe we can open ourselves us to people – Jesus certainly did that with his disciples.

We can & should enjoy a deep connection & intimacy with people.

But we should also temper that with the fact that everybody had flaws & “feet of clay”.

In the end, the only one who is ALWAYS faithful & true is God.

And maybe we should remember that as we connect with people – maybe we should keep in mind what we're getting into when we open ourselves up to people.

Sometimes we may forget that everyone, at some kind of level, is just like us – that for whatever reason(s), we are capable of the best behavior & motives, but we are also flawed, sinful people.

I hope all this makes sense – let me say again, this passage, & this missive, isn't saying we shouldn't ever trust anyone.

What I think it IS saying is that we need to remember what we're getting into with people when we connect with them.