3 Types of People You Should Always Mistrust
And why steering clear of them is a wise move
--
Johann Kaspar Lavater, a Swiss theologian who walked this earth from 1741 to 1801, knew enough to know we ought not to trust everyone. In fact, he singled out three types of people you should never trust. His admonition: “Mistrust the man who finds everything good; the man who finds everything evil; and still more the man who is indifferent to everything.”
I used to blindly trust everyone, naive fool that I was. The older I get, the more wisdom I see in mistrusting others until they have proven they are worthy of my trust. But Lavater’s words go even further. What he seems to be suggesting is we ought to steer clear of people whose worldview denies the existence of both good and evil, or who are so dispassionate they care about nothing.
Why You Should Mistrust People Who See Everything as Good
People who see everything as good are not those folks who look for the good aspects of seemingly bad situations. They are the people who don’t see anything as bad. In their mind, evil doesn’t exist. As a result, they view everything that goes on in the world through rose-colored glasses.
Perhaps these are the people who think everyone is always doing their best. Or the people who believe we are all part of one collective conscience that is continually evolving toward love.
At first glance, their optimism may appear harmless. It may even seem like a pleasant way to go though life. But the reality is, being blissfully ignorant of evil is both foolish and dangerous. It’s like having a church picnic in rattlesnake country.
Why You Should Mistrust People Who See Everything as Evil
People who see everything as evil are so focused on all that is wrong in the world, they have lost sight of all that is right. Everywhere they look, they see only evil all the time. Their negative and cynical view of the world prevents them from experiencing the good, and doing good themselves.
To some degree, these are the criticizers and complainers of the world. The irony is that their obsessive focus on the evil that surrounds them…
