Doubt

Boy oh boy, nothing like discussing doubt. Just after I finished posting “Peace of Mind” I went to a sales meeting and heard, “It is our job to open the door just enough to allow a little daylight of doubt” in the listener’s mind. It struck me so hard I wrote it down. Who does that? Who opens the door to allow the daylight of doubt in our minds? The devil does. I almost fell out of my chair. I understand what he was meaning. The only way to get a content customer with a competitor to switch is to tell them what they are missing or how the competitor doesn’t do it as well, essentially instilling that sliver of doubt.
But it makes me think I should be reading The Screwtape Letters instead of the Bible to become the best salesman – to know when to apply the pressure and when to let up and let psychology take over.

I would love comments on this. Do you think it is wrong to put doubt in the minds of people? If so, should we not do it when we are addressing a person that believes something that is not true or in other words when the doubt may lead someone to the truth? Does doubt lead someone to the truth? I think these are interesting questions.
Finally, I want to tie this together. As in Peace of Mind, be on your guard against people sowing doubt. My suspicion is that the more we learn to doubt things in our lives the more accustomed we become to doubt everything and then we end up as cynical pessimists frankly. The devil doesn’t even need to work because we do it for him. I have often felt a talented salesman wields a sharp blade and it can easily cut the mind of the listener either positively or negatively but I would really enjoy hearing your thoughts. As a believer, our first priority is to know God and trust God. When we begin to doubt that the church will use the money we give wisely or are always thinking there is a better way than what God commanded we miss the mark of trusting God and leaving the results to God. I am not advocating a lack of discernment on the believer’s part but I do want us to recognize that we often believe the doubts the devil puts in our minds regarding the effectiveness of obedience, the Spirit of God, and depending on God. I look forward to reading your thoughts.