We could put good and evil
On a sliding scale
All the way over to evil is serving yourself
All the way over to good is serving the other
Fear and faith could be just underneath
Fear obviously a motivation for evil
And faith a motivation for good
But the knowledge of good and evil isn’t really ours to have
We aren’t meant to judge and condemn and when we do
We wind up as guilty as whoever or whatever we are judging and condemning
Of course discernment is a different story
The proverbs tell us
hdiscretion will iwatch over you,
understanding will guard you,
12 delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
So we are not to judge but we are to discern
And yet
iTrust in the LORD with all your heart,
and jdo not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways kacknowledge him,
and he lwill make straight your paths.
So I suppose real discernment is in seeking understanding from God
Beyond our own human will and mind
And judgement certainly isn’t ours to hold
Which I suppose is kissing cousins with the spirit of hatred
We are meant to seek the father with a kind of humble silence that calls for revelation
Without judging or condemning anyone
Including ourselves
It’s kinda confusing to be honest
And perhaps on the borderline of contradiction
Unless we go deeper on what it means to judge versus what it means to discern
The dictionary defines judgement as
the ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions.
Where as discernment is defined as
the ability to judge well
But goes onto clarify
(in Christian contexts) perception in the absence of judgment with a view to obtaining spiritual guidance and understanding.
So even the dictionary acknowledges the confusion of these two terms in the context of being Christian
By saying “perception in the absence of judgement”
The distinction between judgment and discernment becomes a little more clear
But only just
It’s as if we come up against the limits of language itself to be able to guide us
In fact we have to discern the difference between judgement and discernment
Because we use our judgement to discern
And our discernment to judge
Those words in many ways mean the same thing.
But using discernment here
I will judge that what judgement means
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
I think I could break it all the way down
To avoiding the temptation to elevate ourselves above anyone else
And thusly disallowing any emotion of condemnation to enter the picture of our own hearts and minds
While at the same time noticing what our own hearts say about right and wrong and moving accordingly
I apologize for the confusing nature of this post
However don’t judge me
It’s a confusing subject
Discernment versus judgement
Let’s break it down like this
We aren’t meant to put ourselves above anyone else (that’s God’s business) while we discern our butts off walking through the storms of life
Moving towards the good and shunning evil.
Good thing it also mentions
To lean not on our own understanding
Because it’s all a bit confusing
However what gives us the ability to discern
Without our own understanding
Another contradiction?
All these contradictions on the surface
Point to multiple operating systems that we hold within
There is a distinction between
The understanding, judgement or discernment that comes from our human will and mind
And the understanding, judgement and discernment that comes from God through silence prayer and revelation
So it is on us to discern the source within
And to live our lives in such a way that the dividing line between these operating systems become more clear
A life of sin and earthly pleasure promotes a lack of clarity and divorces us from relating to God’s voice of revelation within
Where as a prayerful life of fasting and meditation
Brings us closer to the voiceless voice we are meant to follow
Without allowing our egos to feel proud about any of it at all.
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Mathew 6.33
For me seeking the kingdom of God
Is about intention upon waking up
To point my mind in Gods direction and sit in silence asking within for his grace and revelation
And to make a practice of this
It’s difficult to talk about these things
Because they all take place in a place beyond words
They arrive in areas of our souls where language ceases to be adequate or even exist at all
I believe this is the reason that attempting to describe such states and measures
With our words most basic definitions
Seeming contradictions spring up like weeds in a soul garden
For those of us crossing the line between acting in accordance to the will of God
Versus acting in accordance with our own will
The beginning stages of a journey such as this is much more subtle and mysterious
Before these spiritual muscles are developed so to speak
Perhaps with practice
We evolve to distinguish between God’s voice and the voice of the ego
Much more clearly
But the ego is a trickster and will pose as a Saint all day long and twice on sundays
So lean not on your own understanding
And judge not
And somehow discern where your discerning discernment is coming from
Playing hopscotch in Gods playground
As demonic winds blow across the schoolyard of life.