The Bible says we shouldn’t trust humans. Does that mean we shouldn’t trust our spouses?
There are a couple of verses that you might have had in mind when asking this question. We read in Psalms 146:3-4, “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” The thought for us in these verses is spiritual in nature. We cannot trust mighty men, or men in general to save us. The word for ‘help’ in verse 3 is “tesh-oo-aw’”. This word literally means ‘rescue, deliverance, salvation.’ In fact, it is translated as ‘salvation’ in Psalms 38:22, “Make haste to help me, O Lord my SALVATION.” It is translated as ‘deliverance’ in 2 Kings 5:1, “Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given DELIVERANCE unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.” It’s important to note that in Psalm 146:3, the phrase ‘son of man’ is not in reference to THE SON OF MAN, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, but it is speaking of one who is born of a man. In other words, a common man.
We also read in Psalms 118:8-9, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” These verses speak in more general terms. It is, indeed, better that we put all our confidence in the Lord and not in our fellow men and women. Who is more trustworthy? Who never lies? Who has no limitation of resources and strength? The Lord does! So, we put all our confidence in Him, and limit our confidence in man. Notice that the trust in these verses is used in a comparative sense. We should put our confidence in the Lord. Man is limited in what he can do, so we cannot put our confidence completely in man.
Should we be able to trust one another? Romans 12:17 instructs us, “Provide things honest in the sight of all men.” Colossians 3:9 says, “Lie not one to another…” Ephesians 4:25 instructs us, “Wherefore putting away lying, SPEAK EVERY MAN TRUTH with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.” We need to make sure that we are trustworthy, always speaking the truth, always being honest, and never lying to others. Titus 1:2 tells that God “cannot lie.” We should follow Him and ‘put away lying.’ We, as believers on the Lord Jesus Christ, should be known as honest people. After all, we represent the One who CANNOT LIE.
Can we trust our spouses? I sure hope we can! We know our spouses, and are known of them, more than anyone else. We should be able to trust what they say and they should be able to trust what we say! It would be a miserable life and marriage if we could not trust each other.
As far as salvation goes, we trust only God to provide that for us. We read in John 1:12-13, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” It is only God who can give us salvation. Man cannot save himself and he certainly cannot save others. This is the work of the Lord and we trust ONLY Him to save us. As far as being able to trust one another on a daily basis, we should ALWAYS be honest so that we prove ourselves worthy of the trust of others. We are told in Romans 13:13, “Let us walk honestly!” (255.2)