Trusted?

There are certain institutions that have been ordained by God for His glory.  One is marriage, as we see in Genesis chapter 2.  We can also say that the nuclear family is a God-ordained institution.  There's government.  And, there's the Church, endowed with power and mission by the Lord to be his witness in the earth.  We read about an exchange between Jesus and His disciples in Matthew chapter 16 (ESV):
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Gallup conducts an annual poll that shows the degree to which certain institutions are trusted. A summary of this year's survey says it quite plainly: " Americans' average confidence in major U.S. institutions is unchanged since last year, with a near-record-low 28% of U.S. adults expressing 'a great deal' or 'quite a lot' of confidence in nine institutions tracked consistently since 1979."

There were actually a grand total of 18 institutions polled about this year, and only three received what Gallup terms "majority-level confidence:"  small business, the military, and science.  The 9 that have been tracked every year since 1979 are "the church or organized religion, the military, the U.S. Supreme Court, banks, public schools, newspapers, U.S. Congress, organized labor and big business."

A Christian Post article drilled down on data relative to the Church.  The article stated:

Public trust in the church as an institution has risen after three years of stagnation, with 36% of Americans now saying they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in it. The shift, recorded in Gallup’s latest survey on the topic, marks the first significant increase since 2020.

Confidence in the church had fallen to 31% in 2022 and remained around 32% over the following two years, near its lowest recorded levels. Gallup has tracked this trend annually since 1973, when trust stood at 66%, reaching a high of 68% in 1975.

The article notes: "Women, younger Americans and lower-income households showed marked increases in trust toward the church over the past year." Among women, the level of trust went up 8 points, to 36%.  Among 18- to 37-year old U.S. adults, there was a 6-point rise, to 32%.  

Lower than the Church on the "trust" scale are the Presidency, at 30%, the U.S. Supreme Court, at 27%, and at a whopping 10% - Congress.  Trust in tech companies was at around 1-in-4. Newspapers garnered 17% and TV news came in at 11%.

Well, at least the Church wasn't as low as some of the institutions, but all-in-all, just over a-third of Americans surveyed expressed confidence in the Church as an institution.  And, that's up over the past few years.  And, young people are showing a greater degree of trust in the institution, so that's a good sign.

The Bible talks about being salt and light - as it's been said, salt produces thirst - and it is a preservative.  Light can denote the truth that is brought into hearts and minds.  So, there is influence that God has called us to have in this world, and it's just not happening to the degree it should.

Unfortunately, while the Church is lumped together with institutions, and we recognize God's hand on it, we are far more than a mere institution.  There is a vibrancy that should be displayed by God's people.  We should be known for our devotion to Christ, the way we display His love, and the consistency of our convictions.  Jesus was especially hard on hypocrites, and we take our cues from our Savior and seek to live a life that is free from it - certainly, fallen leaders, with the news trumpeted by the media, do not help our overall perception.

We can also check out our attitude toward service and our aptitude to live out His truth.  In an age in which professing Christians, according to George Barna's research, by and large, do not adhere to a Biblical worldview, we can consider the degree to which our lives are based on that.  The early Church is said to have turned the world upside down, according to translations of Acts 17.  The book of Acts illustrates for us what a Church looks like that is totally devoted to doing the will of God.  This is our playbook, the way we should be living and influencing the world for Jesus.