Discernment is an essential trait for maturity. Paul prays for the Philippians: “It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (Phil. 1:9-10, ESV). Thus, knowledge and discernment are needed in order to grow in love and pursue excellence and holiness in Christ. Discernment keeps us on the path to our destiny on the New Earth. If we lack discernment, then we will be prone to wasting days or years on detours pursuing teachings, ideas or impressions that do not lead to Christformation. If we are pursuing better discernment, then we will be able to avoid distractions and pitfalls and help others do likewise.
The beginning of discernment is the humility to recognize that one needs God’s grace and wisdom to sort out influences, rather than thinking that one will naturally know the nature of influences or that one’s own opinion should be their guide. If we start with this humility, then we will learn to become attentive to God’s truth and leadings. In this way, discernment will be the navigator on our journey to maturity.
Discernment (Greek: anakrino) involves judging and as used in the bible it may be defined as the process of determining if something is good or bad and usually its source as well. But aren’t we supposed to avoid judging? In Matthew 7:1 Jesus told his disciples not to judge (from Greek: krino) lest they be judged. However, this does not mean that we should never judge others, for in verse 5 he says that once we get rid of our own fault we can then see clearly to take the “speck” (in other words, judge the other) from someone else’s “eye.” Also, in verse 6 he explains that we should not throw our “pearls” (wisdom, etcetera) before “pigs,” implying that we need to judge when someone qualifies as a “pig” before we apply this principle. We are also instructed to judge others in 1 Corinthians 5:12 which instructs us to judge (from Gk. krino) those inside the church with respect to substantial immorality; however, this is supposed to be for their benefit.
For more on discernment, see our earlier post and the two sequel posts. Below is an activational meditation on a key discernment verse.
Absorb Scripture. Read Hebrews 5:14: “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (ESV). Restate this verse in your own words. What is the purpose of this verse? Ruminate on it and absorb it.
Feelings and Emotions Reflection. Ask yourself: What feelings or emotions (for example, peace, joy, gratefulness, doubt, fear, pain, resistance), if any, did I experience during or after absorbing this passage? Why was I feeling this way?
Truth Commitment. Invite God to reveal your heart then ask yourself: How much do I believe that God’s solid food is for the mature? How much do I believe that I need to constantly practice discernment in order to mature?
Virtue & Action Commitment. Invite God to reveal your heart then ask yourself: How much do I long for solid food from God? Do I need to be more intentional about constantly practicing discernment?
Reception (Contemplation.) Ask God to show you anything you have not fully embraced and anything else he desires to show you, or ask Jesus a question about this topic. Sit with a quiet and open heart for at least 60 seconds.
In what area of your life could you apply better discernment? How will this affect your decisions in that area?
