Skeptic In Training

I have been told my many people that I am very trusting. I always seem to think the best of those around me (at least most of the time). I like to think that everyone wants to do the right thing and that motives are somewhat pure.

Maybe it's the logical part of me. I think "why would someone think that way?" or "that just doesn't make sense, there must be something we are not taking in consideration...?"

Over that last few years, I have come to the hard conclusion that sometimes, satan just works in the lives of people and that he takes over. I am certainly not immune to this, I have done some pretty stupid and downright spiritually embarassing things in my life. I have been pretty hard on some people that were probably just doing their best in the past. That was satan working in me.

Call it recognizing satan, or call it skepticism, but either way, things are changing in my head. I am tired of witnessing grown men, protect power in the name of preserving righteousness, cowtow to immature grumbling (from young AND old) in the name of peace, sit and do nothing (stand immobilized) in favor of "rocking the boat" with fresh ideas. Fear has gripped our leadership, fear of the unkown future and a lack of faith that God will bless us more than we can ever imagine if we just trust him and follow him into the unknown.

Our leadership are unwilling to shepherd people. They are afraid to tell someone in their flock that they are acting immature and lacking in faith when they resist ANY change to the traditions that they instituted years ago. Even though there is an insurmountable amount of data to convince those with an open mind that we have to adjust to our environment to keep God's Church alive. That over the ages and throughout the Bible, peoples and places and Churches changed over and over again to be RELEVANT to the current times. Some just want to hang on to the Church of the 50's.

I'm going to call it what it is...sin. My skeptic mind says that it is true sin, while my old self says that it's just ignorant error. I'm hoping for the latter.