But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV)
Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. - 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 (NKJV)
Our bodies? Our works? Our creations? Our knowledge? Finite and imperfect.
In Jesus' day, many in Israel failed to understand that the kingdom of God that Jesus spoke of was not of flesh and blood. It was not of material things that we could see and manipulate by our own power, our own will, our own understanding. They expected material salvation, highlighted clearly in how they mocked Christ.
And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” - Matthew 27:39-43 (NKJV)
They believed that if Jesus Christ could not save himself materially from material powers, then that was sufficient evidence that he could not save himself or any others spiritually either. Most crudely, that because Jesus didn't do what they expected, he was no messiah. At no point did they understand that what they expected was based on, at best, a flawed and incomplete perception on how anything should be.
Nobody has all the pieces of the puzzle. People keep trying to compare the pieces they have to someone else's, and the two argue over whose pieces really belong and whose doesn't, while neither is aware of what the puzzle would look like when put together.
Some of the pieces aren't even ready to be put down, to be added, because the time and place where those pieces are created has not yet occurred, and while we can make guesses, that's the best we can do.
People who place their material state in this life as a priority, and serve their own wellbeing first and foremost, are going to figure things out about the material world, but even what truth they stumble upon in finding success in the material life will be confused by the taint of sin.
There's a reason why ideologies and philosophies tend to come in bundles, and people are encouraged to "take or leave" the entirety of the bundle, instead of discerning what is true and discarding only what is false.
But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. - 2 Corinthians 11:3 (NKJV)
Knowledge is not sinful, but the pursuit of knowledge to save us as a replacement to following what God has commanded is sinful.
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. - Genesis 3:6 (NKJV)
This conflict was the foundation of Jesus' criticism of the "scribes and Pharisees". What seems good to us is not inherently so, which is the kind of thing that feels stupid to say because of how obvious it should be, but the behavior of many directly evidences that they do not understand that simple truth.
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. - Matthew 27:1-12 (NKJV)
How God operates tends to directly upend our epxectations. Our assertions about what should be often end up being completely wrong. We are led by those around us "to salvation", only to find ourselves damned by something else entirely.
So, in all of this, trusting people becomes suicidal. Not because the relationships have no meaning or value, but because everyone is going to have something wrong, and we won't really know what all they do have wrong for certain in this lifetime. When we place our trust in people, we put our hope in material things, and we will be let down for it.
When we place our trust in God, however, God will bring people into our lives who are also doing the same, and what can then unify us is not lateral, not a trust in each other, but in our shared trust and worship of the same God. What unifies us is who we serve, our vertical relationships, not how we treat each other, the horizontal relationships.
It is when we don't have trust in people, but in God, that we can gain the necessary perspective to do things like sacrifice for others out of love. To forgive others for when they wrong us. Such things do not occur from our own strength, from our own perspective, but are instead God working through us, and we are but a vessel for God's use.
It is when we are not investing our hope in those around us that we can boldly speak the truth that so many need to hear. When we trust in God, we no longer fear what those around us can do, because we are grounded in an eternal reality that starts to provide a framework for understanding our temporal one.
When we trust in God, we let God arrange the pieces, instead of trying to do it all ourselves by our own means.
Trust God, not people, and in turn God will give you new eyes to see people as God does, and to do works in their lives as God sees fit.
The alternatives only lead to damnation.
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