“It is better to trust a person who should not be trusted than to distrust a person who should be trusted.” I heard that proverb years ago, and the long I live, the more I agree with it.

I’ve chosen to believe the best about people as long as I can. That’s gotten me into trouble several times, including the two times I was robbed at gunpoint. I’m sure that I’ve been swindled and cheated, scorned and ridiculed for that very trait. And I’m sure it will happen again.

But I don’t want to come to mistrust everyone. It’s not worth it to me. I see the people who are always looking for the other person’s angle, and I don’t want to be like them. All that you miss out on by not trusting people is not compensated by whatever amount of money and heartache you might save.

I’ve come to suspect, and here’s where I’m very open to correction, that we tend to assume people will act the way that we would in their very same situation. That is, the one who expects the other to try and take an unfair advantage is the one who would take that advantage, given the chance. We naturally exaggerate the negative traits of others, so someone who thinks everyone is a robber isn’t necessarily a robber himself. But he is someone who is willing to promote his interests (or those of his groups) ahead of those of others.

Does any of that make sense? There are verses that seem to urge us to be more “astute” in our dealings with others (Luke 16:8; Matthew 10:16) How trusting should we be? In what ways can we be too trusting?