Who Can You Trust?: Overcoming Betrayal and Fear

by Howard E. Butt Jr.

Book Overview

Trust impacts every area of life, and how people sort out the issues of trust and mistrust determines the direction their lives will take, while this practical guide teaches readers how to build... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1578568013
• ISBN13: 9781578568017
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Waterbrook Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Good for a small group

Here's a good potential for a small group discussion. "Who Can You Trust?" addresses the essence of living and why we have trouble trusting people. Author Howard E. Butt, Jr. claims betrayal is the root of our relationship problems. In fact, betrayal was the sin Eve committed against God in the Eden which cursed the world. "Betraying and being betrayed by abuse, desertion, neglect, or rejection lie deep within our personal and collective being," he writes. "We betray others because of our personal experience of feeling betrayed. And we do this whether such betrayal actually took place or not." Real and imagined betrayal breaks down our trust of individuals or people in general, making specific relationships and common business difficult. Couple this with self-deception, that we believe ourselves to be far more pure than we are, and we grow a judgmental perspective, unwilling to forgive and willing to condemn others. Butt believes many Christians have "a too-shallow sense of our sinfulness." He says there are sins we have personally listed as egregious, and if we avoid those, we believe we're in the clear, free to condemn those whom we see as more sinful than we are. If we had an honest view of ourselves, we would have compassion on those who have disgraced themselves in society's eyes. How to address our feelings of betrayal and gain a good understanding of ourselves makes up the counseling portion of the book. Plenty of quotes from C.S. Lewis and other strong authors add interest to the reading. Howard Butt has years of experience working with people on and off the job. He helped his father build the H.E.B. grocery store chain and is a leader in applying the Christian faith to workplace decisions.