In a moment of raw vulnerability, I have to admit that one of the most difficult spiritual practices to live out would have to be discernment. The practice of discernment is particularly difficult due to the fact that it has an effect on most every choice in your life. What you discern to be the best out of two options will decide what will be the next event within your life story: you may (like me) have to discern whether or not eating that brownie your roommate made and decide if it would be worthwhile to satisfy your chocolate cravings or if saving the calories would be of more value. Seeing as I’ve chosen to eat the brownie, I will be spending some more cardio time in the gym. Thus, my decision had an effect on a part of my life that determines the use of my time.
Seeing as time is relentless, it is important for one to wise decisions. Discernment is partially decision making, but also holds another key element: it is an evaluation of what is good or what is true. For instance, every day I must discern whether to speak up or remain silent, to act in a situation or to trust God that I don't have to be the hero.
Most times, discernment is used as a synonym for one’s preferences or feelings. Without some type of foundation, what one feels is discernment can easily be subjective wisdom rather than objective truth. For instance, in my moment of pre-brownie decision making, I easily justified having a brownie because I felt like “I deserved it,” mainly swayed by my chocolate craving. However, in weighing the options, the more rewarding and beneficial thing for my body would have been to abstain from the sugar and reap the benefits from having had a long workout. If I were to have clung to the scientific truth that I would have felt better not having the brownie before eating, I would have used discernment in my decision making. Rather, I chose to follow what I felt was the best thing in the moment.
This is why the scripture must be written on our minds and hearts. The foundation of biblical truth is the authority by which we reflect our discernments rather than wavering to-and-fro by making every decision based on how I feel that day and what we believe to be true about ourselves, others, and the world. Discernment is hard because it tests whether or not we truly believe that God's word is truth over what I think is best or what I feel is true in the moment.
I’m so glad that I don’t have to base my life’s decisions based off of how I feel! Feelings are untrustworthy because although they may help us engage in reality, they don’t always correspond with reality. A bodybuilder might look at himself in the mirror and still feel like he’s really weak, but that doesn’t change the objective truth that they are strong. Someone may feel like their life is worthless, but that feeling doesn’t determine their life’s worth. I'm so grateful to know that even when I feel that all hope is gone, I have the truth of God's word that reminds me that I am not hopeless—that I am more than a conqueror.
In the context of discerning what is true, 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 states, “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”
Just like how skipping the brownie probably would have been more respectful of my body before sleeping, discerning what is good and true by the word is how we can make choices that glorify God by submitting to him our thoughts and actions by referencing them to his Word.
