Which comes first: Trusting the Message or the Messenger
Like the chicken and the egg questions, I wonder which needs to comes first. No matter how good the message if you don’t trust the messenger then you will have a hard time trusting the message. Also, once a messenger that you trust burns you with a bad message, your trust in that messenger will be damaged and maybe even lost.
If you have any thoughts on this please comment. This is something I have been thinking about lately. I look foward to all of the comments and maybe we can clarify this thought.
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For me, it would depend on the message and what value it holds for me. Assuming the message is of value, I would go about validating the message from independent sources – even though the message may be from a trusted messenger. (unless the messenger is the originator of the message).
As anyone who has played “chienese wishpers” knows, a message can get distored during its travels. Hence, I would like to validate the message from sources as close to the originator or directly the originator if possible.
“Once bitten twice shy” – I guess that would apply to anyone. That is human tendency. It does become difficult to trust someone after being burnt. But, I would look at the message itself and evaluate what value the message has for me. If it is the truth that I am after, then I wouldn’t discount a message just because I do not trust the messenger.
Cheers