Trust

Topic: Trust

It took 56 years to build, and four days to destroy.

In 1943, the first "Betty's Bakery" (not its real name) opened, baking

fresh cakes, donuts, and other treats. The business prospered and grew

until it eventually included 37 stores all over its home state. Betty's

donuts and desserts were well-known in the area, and large ads featuring

the "specials of the week" ran in many newspapers.

Through war, peace, recession and expansion, business boomed for

Betty's. Family-owned for half a century, Betty's was a home-town

favorite.

Then in June, an inspection of Betty's central bakery found cleanliness

problems. A second inspection found more problems. In early July,

Betty's was shut down for four days until the problems were fixed.

But those four days were four days too many. Local papers, which carried

Betty's ads on page 16, ran stories about the problems on page one. Just

one month later, Betty's closed the doors at all 37 stores. The reason?

Bad publicity about the problems. In other words, trust. People who had

trusted Betty's for decades...no longer did. And a business which had

survived a World War, withered and died for lack of something very

simple: trust.

Trust. Nothing is more valuable, yet harder to receive, for trust cannot

be purchased, only earned.

Trust. Nothing is stronger, yet more fragile. The bond of trust can

withstand any test, but trust crumbles under the impact of betrayal.

A lifetime of trust can be destroyed in a moment, and once it is, you can

be sure you will spend most of another lifetime trying to regain it.

Just ask the woman whose husband cheated, or the business-man whose

partner left town with the profits. Ask the church whose minister lived

a double-life, or the teenager who believed the lie "I will always love

you".

Trust is incredibly precious, for what could be more precious than the

sure knowledge that even when the rest of the world doesn't believe you,

there is one person, no matter how wild your story, who will?

You will never realize how truly precious trust is until you have lost

it. Think carefully. Choose wisely. Act rightly. In an age of

uncertainty, trust is too valuable to destroy.

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