122nd Edition
The key part of trust
My apologies for writing another blog about trust. It’s a topic that just doesn’t seem to go away. Ever wonder why? Let me get back to that. Andy Kessler wrote an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal on June 8th, which happened to be my mom’s 89th birthday. Can’t be just coincidence. Let me get back to that, too.
The title of his article was – “Can You Trust Anybody?” The implication is that no, you most likely cannot. At the very least, as Kessler stated, “follow Reagan’s philosophy of trust but verify. In the last paragraph he adds that “Faith is part of it.” Part of it? Really? That would be like saying that Bill Belichick and Tom Brady were part of the New England Patriot’s super bowl victories. Or that Bob Gibson was part of the St. Louis Cardinals World Series championship in 1967. Gibson pitched three complete games, winning all three, compiling a 1.0 ERA. He also hit a homerun in game seven and was the series MVP. I love it when I can use sports analogies to emphasize my main point.
I’m not sure why Mr. Kessler chose not to elaborate on his statement that faith is a part of trust. So, let me try. Faith is not only the most important part of building trust, it is the very foundation of trust. A loving, gracious, personal God is the only relationship in which we can place our complete trust with 100% certainty. And we can do this without verification! The faithful know this. Paul, the author of most of the New Testament, knew this as well, which is why he traveled the region enduring shipwrecks, imprisonment and persecution, while he spread the good news. Faith and trust are intertwined. Without trust there is no lasting faith, and without faith, there is no lasting trust. Our faith is deepened when we trust in God completely, letting go of control, surrendering our will to His. When we cling to our ego, or replace the one true God with false gods, our trust is eventually destroyed, not just by evil or malicious intent, but by human fallibility.
Earlier in his essay, Kessler states – “In our hyper-interconnected world, all you have is your reputation – other’s trust in you. It’s precious and easy to lose.” Sadly, he may be right about this to some degree. But if you reinsert faith into the discussion, perhaps he is missing something. I would suggest this edit – “In our soundbite, social-media obsessed world, all you have is your faith – your trust in your Heavenly Father.” As I’ve gotten older this awareness has become clearer. As my physical abilities decline (don’t get me started on that) I no longer trust my physicality, which in my prime was my foundation. The acceptance of our mortality, the realization of our universal brokenness are all part of the path toward a growing faith. It is part of God’s design.
The last component of Kessler’s recent essay deals with Influencers. A relatively new term, or perhaps a new definition to an old term. Who or what in your life influences you? As trust in Government and mainstream media have cratered in recent years, trust in alternative sources like OpenAI and ChatGPT have risen. I’m not sure whether that will prove to be a good or bad thing.
As an equity analyst by training, I learned to absorb all kinds of inputs, identify insights and discard irrelevant data, in order to make prudent investment decisions. The process was as much an art as a science. Throughout my career, which spanned four decades, there was routinely some attempt to make the process entirely a science. As we speak, really smart people are trying to do just that using AI.
There has long been a desire to automate, to replace human labor with machines. Productivity, one of the keys to higher economic growth, has been driven to a large extent by automation. The potential of AI continues this trend, perhaps it may even accelerate it. All good stuff, right?
Kessler states that – “Trust is like blood.” Not quite. Trust in God is like blood would be more accurate. Trust in God is what sustains us as our family, friends, and our own physical and mental capabilities all fade away. As I mentioned, my mom turned 89 on June 8th. Her physical and mental capabilities have long withered. In her day she had absolute trust in herself, to the admiration of many. I hope and pray that she has transferred that trust to the Father, who will call her home in His good time. We are all on this journey, in search of lasting faith in the only being worthy of such trust. It’s why we will continue to contemplate, discuss, and write about trust, or the lack thereof.
Can You Trust Anybody? That was Kessler’s original question. The answer is yes. You can trust God. Completely and eternally.
Please help me grow my readership by forwarding this to a friend(s). In the meantime, stay tuned for my next newsletter. Thanks!
Michael Kayes
*These views are my personal opinions and are not the viewpoints of any company or organization.