Being Trustworthy in Very Small Matters

“The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones.” — Jesus Christ

“Did you see what she was wearing?”
“Have you heard about their fight?”
“Has he seen a doctor about that thing on his foot?”

I find it interesting when people talk about other people behind their back. It’s one thing if it’s showering complements upon the absent person, but more often than not, it’s critical and spreading information that we have no right to be spreading. I am ashamed to have taken part in such conversations from time to time. But, like most sin, it’s exciting to talk about people behind their back.

I’ve realized I immediately lose trust in people when they gossip. There’s something in me that knows right now it might be someone else they’re talking about but next time it could be me. What story or criticism do people crack open and start passing around when I’m at a dentist appointment?

Few people would boast about how much people don’t trust them. We demand honesty from other people all the time, but it’s embarrassingly rare when we take a moment to look at ourselves and root out the smallest bits of dishonesty. We’ve been breaking trust since Adam and Eve and none of us are exempt from such a flaw.

It always starts with simple things, like not showing up to a friend’s house for dinner because you would rather watch Netflix. I think most of us have wasted company time scrolling through Facebook. It can be silly things like watching pirated versions of The Avengers, sneaking into a Dave Mathews Band concert (I have no idea who would want to do that) or buying a dress for a wedding only to return it after the wedding. (Cool trick, eh?)

Once we contemplate our trustworthiness it can be startling to realize we don’t even trust ourselves.

Honesty is doing what we ought to do. Honesty protects us from being hypocrites. Honesty means we need to admit we are wrong. We’re all broken and we’re constantly violating the rules we pretend to uphold.

Pagans and non-believers watch what we do. They listen to what we say. If we aren’t trustworthy and we cheat, steal, or gossip—just like everyone else—we’ve missed our chance to evangelize. We’ve made a mockery of our religion.

Doing the “very small matters” right makes a difference in the great matters. There are no sins that fly under God’s radar. It’s time to do some fall cleaning in our daily lives and root out those venial sins!

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