“Black and white is how it should be, but shades of grey are the colors I see.”

Billy Joel

My thoughts on this beautiful song have changed a lot over the years. Just like its author, the older I get the greyer things become. Yes, the basic morals of right and wrong remain the same and are unchanging because God and His Word are unchanging. 

But as far as “sides” and “parties” things have been greyed over time in my vision. I have watched as many of the people I grew up respecting and admiring, who taught me the basics of right and wrong and taught me about morality and importance of scripture have fallen into idolatry, fanaticism, and support of horrible unbiblical actions, ideas, and people.  I’ve watched as people I once held in high regard became the very things they once spoke out against. 

“How could this be?” I wondered. “How could these people who taught me these truths then turn against them and not even realize it”

Scripture tells us that we shouldn’t put all our trust in people because man, unlike God, is sinful and can change. 

“Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there.” -Psalm 146:3
“It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.” -Psalm 118:9
“Don’t put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. What good are they?” -Isaiah 2:22
“This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.” -Jeremiah 17:5-6

Scripture also tells us to be mindful of things people say, even in His name. We should always turn back to scriptures to double check things we hear. 

“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” -Acts 17:11 
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” -1 John 4:1

Instead of trusting in people, who will, at some point or another, let us down, we should put our trust in Christ because he is unchanging and will never let us down. 

"Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." -Psalm 62:8 
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” -Hebrews 13:8 
“I am the LORD, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.” -Malachi 3:6 
“Even if my father and mother abandoned me, the LORD would take me in.” -Psalm 27:10 
“God’s way is perfect. All the LORD’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.” -Psalm 18:30 

One of the youth in my church, who is wise beyond their years, said the following:

“One thing I’ve been learning through the past year to now is that people are corrupt in nature. As a young person, the general direction is to listen to people older than you who know better, but that becomes hard when as Christians, many people you would consider to be good examples as Christians have completely different opinions on worldly issues. If anyone else is feeling this way like me, here’s me passing on advice given to me: always take your troubles back to the Bible, and don’t base your opinion of God on what the people of the world say about Him, for His love never changes and He makes His character clear in His Word.”

Wow! That is so true! And that’s a good point. So many people walk away from Christianity because they were either hurt by a church, someone in the church, or because of hypocrisy of Christians. 

Brennan Manning, a former Franciscan priest, once said, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

As the youth points out, we shouldn’t ever let our faith be based upon what people say or do, it should be based on God and His Word. 

When the world lets us down, we need to turn to Him. We need to realize that this is not our home and our citizenship is in the coming Kingdom of God.