What is Discernment?

What is Discernment?

Think of all the influences you have in your day to day life. From the moment you wake up, until the moment you go to bed, you are constantly being influenced in some way, whether you realize it or not. You're constantly hearing many different opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints. With all these different perspectives in the world, how do we know what to believe? Should we just trust anyone who seems credible and take them at their word?

Think about how easy it is to just scroll through social media. You see dozens or even hundreds of posts sharing different values or lifestyles. Many will seem harmless, or even wise, but not everything that sounds good is rooted in truth. This is where discernment is needed.

The simple definition of discernment is "the ability to judge well" or "to be able to tell right from wrong", but as followers of Christ it goes so much deeper. Its not always about just making good decisions, its also about being able to differentiate God's truth from the evil influences meant to deceive and distract us. This is why good discernment is so important. If we look out into then world, we see many people who are lost. Unfortunately so much of the world, and even many followers of Christ lack good discernment, and because of that many people follow false beliefs, false teachers, and ways of living that don't align with God's will. 

So how do we know what to believe?

In this fallen world where discernment is often lacking, how do we actually make the right choice? Maybe first you'll try google. You search up your question, and are met with hundreds of different answers. You click on the first one that comes up and it seems legit. However then you click on the next website, and it says the exact opposite of the other website. No matter what you search your constantly met with different viewpoints, often not aligning with each other. 

After that maybe you turn to your friends, you ask the question and they all seem to seem to agree on an answer. Great! But does that mean its the truth? With all of these different views, how do we know what's fact and what's false? 

Even in the Christian community we see a lot of separation of viewpoints. Many Christians adhere to one way of living, and believe it fully to be true, but then others have a completely different viewpoint and believe that fully to be true. Luckily there is a way to get a true answer, the Bible. The Bible is the one absolute source of truth in our fallen world. "All Scripture is inspired by God, and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."            (2 Timothy 3:16). As this verse says, scripture is God's word and is inspired by God. Since scripture is inspired by God, it doesn't change with shifts in culture or opinion. It is constant and trustworthy, just like God. When we have any question on what aligns with God's will, we can simply turn to Him, and the Bible.

How to grow in discernment

Since having good discernment is such an important part in our walk with God, its crucial that we grow in our ability to discern. To best live out God's will and His plan for us, we need to be able to separate God's voice from the voices of evil that try and deceive you. Here are some ways you can grow in your ability to discern:

1. Build a strong prayer life

Prayer is one of the most important things we do as believers. We're literally talking to the creator of everything, and because He loves us, He can help us grow in wisdom and discernment.

"Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God — who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly — and it will be given to him"      (James 1:5).

God will give you wisdom if you ask for it, so by praying for stronger wisdom and discernment, God can help us better understand what is from Him, and what isn't. When faced with a question, simply pray for God to give you wisdom, and ask him to give you greater conviction to lead you to the answer.

2. Test if its from God

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming; even now it is already in the world" (1 John 4:1-3).

As mentioned earlier, the Bible is the source of truth that we can use to tell what's from God. When faced with questions or uncertainty on whether something is true, use the Bible to test if it aligns with God. Anything that goes against God's word is not from God, and is meant to deceive you. Use the Bible like a compass, to guide you in the right direction, away from false teachings or ideas.

3. Seek Wise Counsel

When faced with uncertainty, ask other followers of Christ. These can be friends who are gifted in wisdom or discernment, or even leaders in your local church. 

"Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17).

Consulting others who are also strong followers of Christ, like iron sharpening iron, can help sharpen and grow your skills of discernment and wisdom.