Sustaining trust is pivotal to any relationship…….

We all understand the importance of trust in relationships. Reconciliation, intimacy, and close fellowship always depend on forgiveness, respect, love, and trust. Similar to success, trust is such an attribute which is easier to build or create than to sustain. In today’s world, sustained trust has really become a rare phenomenon, be it among countries, couples or other human relationships.

There are many occasions when you are almost tempted to suspect any generous show of affection or unexpected exhibition of appreciation, even from a close relative or a lover who might sometimes give you cause to distrust him or her. No relationship exists without any form of conflicts from time to time, which can drastically affect the trust between the people in the relationships. The ability and manner of managing or resolving conflicts and building trust, is a primary sign of maturity or true spirituality of a person, and portrays the depth of his or her love for the particular person the one has conflicts with. The offended party must learn to build trust for the offender, and the offender must trust that the one he or she offended has sincerely forgiven and released him or her from the chains of the offence, for them to continue loving each other.

“I do not trust you anymore.” “I wonder if I can ever trust you again.” “I never knew you could do that to me.” “How can I forget what you did?” These are among the most common statements we hear in places when trust is broken between two people, especially between couples and lovers. Another familiar quote is: “I do not trust anybody.” When you hear this statement then it clearly indicates to you that the speaker has had a bad experience before or has heard about the unfortunate experiences of someone who innocently or foolishly gave his or her trust to someone and got the trust badly trampled upon, with subsequent damages.

After dealing with offences and resolving all conflicts, the primary hurdle to overcome is the re-establishment of broken trust. Trust is a process and not just an instant act or event. Trust is the process that takes the act of forgiveness to completion, and enables us to establish true love and fellowship with any neighbor or companion. You cannot achieve it as a flight by night or in one sprint, no matter how gigantic your initial effort is.

Without qualities like faith, patience, sincerity, and consistent works of righteousness towards the person you are dealing with, you will forever struggle to trust your husband, wife, child, in-law, relative, or friend. However the challenge for most of us is to display such qualities consistently, especially when the times are demanding. I would presume that this is a lot easier than losing a dear one forever from your life.