Blindly Transferring Trust

2 Samuel 16:19

And again, whom should I serve? should I not serve in the presence of his son? as I have served in thy father's presence, so will I be in thy presence.

A huge mistake was made by those who followed Absalom after David fled into the wilderness by blindly trusting Absalom as they trusted David. It was said that many of these people followed Absalom in their simplicity. Although Hushai was a spy for David, he told Absalom, as I have served in thy father's presence, so will I be in thy presence. This was the mentality of the people who followed Absalom, and that is why Hushai could get away with saying this statement. Absalom knew he had the trust and loyalty of the nation behind him.

There is a great mistake these people made. They gave their loyalty and trust to Absalom immediately when they should have made him earn it. These people transferred their trust and loyalty from David to Absalom just because he held the throne of Israel. The mistake these people made was that they forgot David had earned their trust and loyalty; he did not inherit it because he was king. Had these people forced Absalom to earn their trust and loyalty instead of blindly giving him their trust, they would have seen that Absalom had wrongly taken the throne from David.

I have been asked many times how a church can follow a man who took over the pastorate of a great church that took the church in a different direction than his predecessor, a direction that led to compromise. My answer is these people blindly transferred their trust to the next man instead of making him earn it. Because these people blindly transferred their trust and loyalty to the next man, the next man never had to earn the trust, which resulted in him doing whatever he wanted to do, even if what he wanted to do was an action of compromise. Let me share a couple thoughts about this important principle.

First, you should give someone who takes a leadership position time to earn your trust. It is as wrong not to give someone a chance to earn your trust as it is to blindly transfer your trust to someone who simply took over a position from a great man of God or a great leader. Give them time to earn your trust, but follow them as they follow the Scriptures and the examples of those from the past.

Second, God’s Word MUST be your first loyalty and that to which you give your full trust. Though I may be loyal to a man, I am loyal to him as long as he does not go against God’s Word or my Christian heritage. Paul told the church of Corinth to be followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. The prerequisite to following Paul was to follow him in accordance to what God’s Word taught.

Third, loyalty and trust must never be transferred to a new leader, they must be earned. There is nothing wrong with being loyal to a pastor or a great leader, but they must earn that trust through years of faithfulness to the direction they are headed; a Scriptural and non-compromising direction. Those who work for the new leader should do what he says, but they should leave if he strays from truth. Many have blindly transferred their trust and loyalty to a new man without him earning it, and he led them to a wrong direction and eventual compromise. Give a new leader time to earn your trust and loyalty, but make him earn the right. This keeps everyone honest and following God’s Word.