When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
On that very day their plans come to nothing.
Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and everything in them, who remains faithful forever." ... Psalm 146:3-6

Who do you trust? Trust seems to be a big issue these days, taking quite a front and center position in the current political debate. Both sides say, "Trust me. You can't trust the other guy. You can entrust the economy to me. You can entrust foreign policy to me." And so on. Yet there is also the current fight to keep "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, and "In God we Trust" on our money. Then you have CEOs of corporations, financial advisors, news organizations, and pollsters all vying for your trust. When it comes to our security, we seem to adopt "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition". Can we really serve more than one master?

I suggest that even though we like to think and even say that we trust in God, in fact we don't. We are instead putting our trust in the princes of the world - political, economic, and cultural leaders. All of whom are those 'who cannot save'. We have bought into the post-Enlightenment stance that says that we can separate our existence into spiritual and secular realms, and there need not be an overlap between the two. This is Deism, which holds that even if there is a First Mover, as God is sometimes called, he does not intervene in our day to day lives, so we must plod our way along and make history come out right for ourselves.

Jesus says to us in Matthew 6:30-33, "If God so clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying 'What shall we eat? What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and all these things will be given to you as well."

So you just can't have it both ways. Because then what you are really saying is, "I'll trust God later, I need to trust something else right now." But the 'right now', the present, is the Kingdom of God for us as much as it will be in the future. Of course it is often difficult, when events around us can clog our path with obstacles. But if we believe that our God is a Father 'who remains faithful forever', the choice we make when choosing where to put our trust and our allegiance is an easy one. Every compromise we make to put other interests ahead of the teachings of God our Father and Jesus his Son is a defeat for us as disciples. While the ability to exist and function within society may require us to put a degree of trust in our friends, family, co-workers, and political leaders, our true allegiance is due to only the Triune God we recognize as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Because ultimately, by none other is there the promise of salvation.

Fear not, little flock, he goeth ahead. Your shepherd selecteth the path you must tread.
The waters of Marah he'll sweeten for thee. He drank all the bitter in Gethsemane.
Fear not, little flock, whatever your lot. He enters all rooms, "the doors being shut".
He never forsakes. He never is gone. So count on his presence in darkness and dawn.
   Paul Rader, 1921