A Matter of Trust, A Matter of Control

Recently we experienced some trying times dealing with contractors. We had wanted to do some maintenance work on the house, maintenance which was long overdue, but we ( Rich) didn't have the time to do. In the process of dealing with the contractors, we lost confidence in their integrity and the quality of their work. Mostly this was a result of things promised that weren't done and poor workmanship; some was because of lack of understanding on our part; and I suspect the fact that we weren't in control was also a contributing factor. Their actions and failure to follow through with promises caused us to mistrust them. Our lack of understanding and lack of control added to the frustration.

I read this idea in a book about gardening: People attempting to grow vegetables and fruits get the feeling that nature is an antagonist, so they fight back against insects and weeds with poisons, rather than learning how to work with the natural environment. They have this concept about nature because that is what they experience with people as a whole. When I read that I thought how often people have a similar concept about God--they think that He is against them and taking things away from them, and making life difficult for them. They don't know His goodness and His trustworthiness so they put upon Him characteristics of the people they have encountered who were hateful, untrustworthy and unreliable. Also they want control of their life and when God doesn't come through for them in the way that they want Him to, they doubt His goodness. Again it is a matter of trust and a matter of control. What isn't realized is that God is infinitely good and infinitely wise; He of all beings, can be trusted and allowed to be "in control."