What Do We Now Use as the Measure of Trust?

Before people choose what to trust, the environment first teaches them what to notice.

We Admire, Then Desire

Yes, the environment highlights and carefully teaches us what to notice, but to what end, you might wonder? What we repeatedly see can slowly become what we admire. What we admire can become what we desire. And what we desire can quietly become the standard we use to judge everything around and within us. This is where the issue becomes deeper and clearer. If the environment keeps showing us that success is visibility, love is provision, leadership is confidence, beauty is quality, and influence is truth, then over time we would start trusting people and things based on these measurements, as we do today. Not because we sat down and carefully chose them as standards, but because they were slowly formed in us.

Desire as a Standard

Desire is natural, and in itself, it is not wrong. However, it must be noted that the type of desires we have is heavily influenced by the environment we find oursleves in. Despite our uniqueness as individuals, we all share the same environment to an extent on the basis of globalization and technology access. We may live in different places, but we are often exposed to the same trends, the same images, the same voices, the same lifestyles, and the same definitions of success. This is where the influence of environment becomes both encouraging and dangerous. Encouraging, because environment can expose us to knowledge, growth, opportunities, and ideas we may not have known otherwise. But dangerous, because the same environment can also shape what we begin to admire, desire, trust, and eventually become. If what we admire can be influenced and subconsciously controlled, so can our desires. If society tells us what success looks like, what beauty looks like, what love looks like, what relevance looks like, what happiness looks like, and what power looks like, then it can also tell us who and what deserves our trust, until it becomes embodied as the standard. It is at this point competence becomes the benchmark. Qualification becomes measured by visibility, usefulness, popularity, money, confidence, status, beauty, performance, or social approval. And once these things become the measure, character starts to look optional, if remembered at all. We begin to ask, “Can this person provide?” before asking, “Can this person be trusted?” We ask, “Can this person lead publicly?” before asking, “What governs this person's private life?” We ask, “Can this person inspire?” before asking, “Is this person truthful?” We ask, “Can this person open doors?” before asking, “What kind of spirit will I be walking with if I enter through that door?” This is how the environment slowly trains people to choose competence over character without making it look like a moral issue. It simply makes character look less urgent, if remembered at all.

The Identity Crisis

In a manner of being pragmatic, this is the true danger zone - the edge of the cliff. Many people are hovering around that edge today, with a fast increasing number in those who realize it too late. The influence of the environment becomes much more incisive when a person has little to no personal content. By personal content, I mean a real awareness and understanding of one's identity. Not just external identity, but spiritual identity: who a person is, where they are from spiritually, why they are here, what they are called to do, and where they are going. Without that inner awareness, the environment becomes louder than conviction. A person will know what is trending but not what is true. They will know what society rewards but not what their soul requires. They will know what people admire but not what God values. When there is no clear and rooted understanding of one's identity, then external conditioning becomes easier. The environment does not need to force the person directly. It only has to keep shaping the space they exist in, till it defines them.

The Endgame

I wonder, to what end is the environment's influence on individuals? It is certainly a double-edged sword. The environment can shape people positively or negatively, and sometimes the same influence may look harmless in the short term but become dangerous in the long term. This is why it requires our attention. When the wrong person, system, ideology, platform, or spirit understands the power of environment, they do not need to destroy people suddenly. They only need to keep altering the status quo. Make compromise look wise. Make appearance look like value. Make money look like safety. Make visibility look like truth. Make confidence look like leadership. Make character look outdated. Make competence the goal. And by the time people begin to sense that something is wrong, they may already feel too adapted, too uncertain, or too helpless to leave that environment. This is the sad part of this process. The end is precise and terminal, and even when one realizes beforehand, it is often too late to save themselves.

Reflection

Maybe the issue is not only that society is loud, perhaps it is also that many of us have ignored, or have been quiet about the things that should have formed us internally. There is time to learn about money, relationships, beauty, influence, career growth, networking, leadership, and success. These things have their place. But if we search for everything except what truly matters, we may become very informed and still poorly formed within. So before we ask, “Can this person provide?” “Can this person lead?” “Can this person inspire?” “Can this person open doors?” or “Can this person help me get ahead?” maybe we should first ask: What standard am I using to trust this person, and who gave me that standard? Because if character is not our measure, something else will gladly become it. Drafted by Princess Faith Odo, refined with AI.

Category: Reflection