WHO CAN YOU TRUST? by Robert Soto

WHO CAN YOU TRUST? by Robert Soto

March 13, 2010

Psalm 5:9 "Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit."

I have heard the story once and twice and I have heard it a thousand times, but for some reason it hit me hard today. It is the story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears. It was from the mouth of a Cherokee who knew her history and who knew her heritage. But one thing she brought up was something that I have said for years on end, and that is that the Cherokee people were a perfect example that the white people of the United States never meant to keep their word. The Cherokee people did everything that was required of them by the white people of their time and yet they still lost their homes. The Cherokee people had the first public schools that accepted both boys and girls, viewing them as equal in their tribal function; yet the whites still destroyed the foundation that makes any nation - the family unit. The Cherokee people had a newspaper that was written in both English and Cherokee, and they maintained a literacy rate that greatly exceeded the white world at the time; yet they persisted in calling them ignorant, uncivilized pagans.

As I sat and listened to the story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears, I heard something in my heart that sadly still rings today. We still cannot trust our government. You still cannot trust those of the non-Indian persuasion. It seems like history is a continual repetition of cultural destruction. Can we trust a white man? I say no - just like we cannot trust anyone who walks on this earth. When our faith and trust is in a person, the end thereof will be one of death and destruction. As I heard the words of this Cherokee storyteller I could not help but think of the words of David when he wrote about those who came to destroy us: "Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit." Beware of those who come with promises that are too good to be true. Their words might sound convincing, but their deeds will bring you death. Put your trust in the One who is and always will be trustworthy: our Lord Jesus Christ.

Robert Soto, Lipan Apache and pastor of:

McAllen Grace Brethren Church
The Native American New Life Center
Chief of Chiefs Christian Church