TRUST EQUITY
‘No lies about your neighbor.’ Exodus 20:16
Lying is such a tricky topic. I don’t think anyone flat out would tell you they are a liar. When you lie, you dissolve truth. The bigger the lie, the more loss of truth. So, when someone says they tell a “little white lie,” what they are saying is they are dissolving some of the truth.
Truth is important. It’s more important than you and I realize. Trust is required nearly every moment of our life. We have to trust our neighbors that they will not rob our house. We trust our car manufacturer to build a car that does not blow up. We trust our microwave to not kill us — or maybe it does. We trust clothing manufacturers to create clothes that help us and not hurt us.
Trust is in everything. So, the absence of trust only dissolves a fulfilling life.
I spoke to a friend the other day about this area of “trust.” As we talked about getting older and looking at our lives, we both agreed that we feel we should be further along. Meaning, we should have accomplished more things, made more money and created a bigger life than our current status.
This is something I’ve thought about many times but only until recently settled on the fact that my life is great. It’s great because I’m building trust equity with so many people. This trust that people have in me, may not seem much to outsiders but it’s something that can be traded upon at any given time.
I don’t think I’ll use this trust equity in the near future, but it’s there. It’s there for me to imagine what I could do, build or create.
This equity, while we cannot see it — it’s very rich. The currency of trust is one that very few truly possess. It’s a gift and a calling. Not everyone stacks up bars of trust in their vault — but I do. I’m not sure what exactly it will be used for — but I keep saving.
Which brings me back to this idea of being truthful with your neighbors and friends. Not just partially truthful, learning to share the full truth. I know some will say, “the truth hurts.” The truth may hurt but it hurts far less than the pain lies bring.
Bring the full truth, don’t dissolve anything. People need to hear honesty and very few are alive anymore who understand how important this is. In the meantime, keep building your trust equity with people. You don’t know when you may need it — but believe me, you will one day.
When that day comes, I’ll let you know. Maybe it’s for a book, maybe it’s a speaking thing I’m doing. I dunno for sure, but one day — I’ll need to cash in some of that trust. Till then, I’m building up my reserves.
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