I’m starting a new blogchain called Decision Help. Check out the first entry: Discernment (discrimination, sound judgment).
This is entry 1 of the blogchain Decision Help.
Discernment is a gift of God (1 Cor 12:10) that allows us to accurately identify causes and predict likely futures. Discernment is the process of thinking, feeling, and praying through an issue that results in decisions about the way things are or have been, the way things should be, and possibly, about how one ought to move in the present to a desired future.
Discernment grounds our decisions in reality—God’s providence and principles. Bad decisions are the outgrowth of lacking discernment. When we fail to see the world correctly, we make choices that go against the grain of reality and bear painful consequences. According to John Cassian (Conference 2.2-3), “the blessed Antony” makes this point by way of Jesus' words about the eye as the lamp of the body in Matthew 6:22-23:
For this is discretion, which is termed in the gospel the “eye,” “and light of the body,” according to the Saviour’s saying: “The light of thy body is thine eye: but if thine eye be single, thy whole body will be full of light, but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body will be full of darkness:” because as it discerns all the thoughts and actions of men, it sees and overlooks all things which should be done. But if in any man this is “evil,” i.e., not fortified by sound judgment and knowledge, or deceived by some error and presumption, it will mike our whole body “full of darkness,” i.e., it will darken all our mental vision and our actions, as they will be involved in the darkness of vices and the gloom of disturbances. For, says He, “if the light which is in thee be darkness, how great will that darkness be!” For no one can doubt that when the judgment of our heart goes wrong, and is overwhelmed by the night of ignorance, our thoughts and deeds, which are the result of deliberation and discretion, must be involved in the darkness of still greater sins.
When we fail to see the world correctly, we stumble. But when our decisions flow from discernment, that is, when they are grounded in reality, our decisions can become steps to success. “By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches” (Proverbs 24v3-4). Wisdom, of course, is guided supremely by the scriptures, by which God discerns “the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). And by success, I don’t mean mere material success. Discretion, as John Cassian put it, is also the mother, guardian, and regulator of all the virtues.
So if you want to choose the right path, you must first learn to see.
This weekend, listen to Carl Trueman‘s short lecture on The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. He is expanding on themes from his recent best-seller.
🎵Listening: Skip, Hop, and Wobble. One of my all-time favorite albums.
This week in the Confession Overview Class, I’ll be teaching on baptism, the Lord’ Supper, and church censures. We start at 11:15am after morning worship on Sunday.
The Anchor Devotional I wrote for today is about why God’s authorship of the Bible is important.
Some people say the Bible doesn’t need to have God as its author in order for it to be helpful. That’s like saying you don’t need a love letter to be from your spouse in order to make you happy.
Currently reading: Leading God’s People: Wisdom from the Early Church for Today by Christopher A. Beeley 📚
“When Christians trust God, they find themselves doing things that otherwise seemed impossible.” (From my devotional today in Anchor.)
Big topics covered this Sunday in the Confession Overview Class. For example: How can you experience communion with God? And what does that even mean? Join us after worship, 11:15am-12:00pm. Here is the updated handout.
It amazes me that God uses human teachers to help us grow, but he does. As Paul said to the Thessalonians, “You became imitators of us and of the Lord…. And so you became a model to all the believers.” Whom are you imitating? Why? Who is imitating you? Is it good that they are?
Currently reading: The Christian Family by Herman Bavinck 📚
Got a great intern coming from @wscal to officially start the Covenant Summer Internship Program next week. Thx to churches across the @OrthodoxPC for helping us make this possible and to an anon supporter in #Tucson for funding the housing. Y’all are amazing. Praise God!
R. Scott Clark: “Are P&R Churches “Wholly Inadequate” To Investigate Abuse?”
“This is not a binary choice. The church should fulfill its vocation to address sin but it should do so with all the resources it has to hand.”
At Glover Ranch tonight. Saw paintings by students of @dellachelpkaart. Reminded me of the filmmaking comeback in Marana. Southern Arizona is great place for art.
