大象传媒

Good morning!

Confucius told his disciple that three things are needed for government: weapons, food and trust. If a ruler can't hold on to all three, he should give up the weapons first and the food next. Trust should be guarded to the end, as "without trust we cannot stand".聽 Politicians, economists, philosophers and sociologists have all recently commented on the decline of trust.聽 It is time to add a religious voice to the conversation.

There is a general perception that trust has declined, particularly gathering momentum after the 2007 financial crisis and the (near) collapse of the banking sector. The financial markets lost sight of their moral duty. Bad conduct (such as financial deception) and the failure of the banks to stay within the social (and moral) consensus have contributed to the decline in trust.聽

Although trust is widely used in economics and finance, it is not primarily an economic or financial term. The key words in the markets are spiritual: 鈥渃redit鈥� (from the Latin 鈥渃redo鈥� meaning 鈥淚 believe鈥�) and 鈥渃onfidence鈥� (meaning 鈥渟hared faith鈥�). Indeed, United States coins bear the motto 鈥業n God We Trust鈥�.
Trust is relational; it cannot be commanded but needs to be given, freely. And rebuilding a culture of trust requires good conduct.

This is the virtue of religion and is fulfilled by proper religious practice, which frees us from the tyranny of false gods 鈥� and there are many, including mammon 鈥� that claim our attention. G.K. Chesterton鈥檚 famous phrase: 鈥榃hen people stop believing in God, they don鈥檛 believe in nothing, they believe in anything.鈥�

Lord, help us strive to rebuild the trust our society so urgently needs.

Amen.