If we recognize the existence of truth and acknowledge the value of possessing truth, then next we must be able to discern what is truth if we are to seek and to know we found it.  Wisdom, in a sense, is this ability to discern by the senses what is true from the facts available using human reason guided as well by our spiritual nature.  Ultimately, for the Christian this must be based upon the Bible.  (You might call this later spiritual aide, intuition, if you want to avoid implicating the spiritual nature of man.)  Optimal functioning and fruitful living require the development, maintenance, and continual practice of discernment applied to both the world of “what is” and “what ought to be”. If one values knowing truth, then discernment is the prerequisite active means of acquiring the truth you desire.  Understanding discernment and the influences upon its practice will deepen your wisdom and ability to discern optimally.  Practicing this discernment grounded in the last principle to be discussed in this essay will help lead you to a fulfilled life.

               Before examining discernment and what influences it, quickly reviewing a few faulty worldviews of truth helps to develop an appreciation for the aspects of discernment to be examined next.  Some worldviews deny universal or absolute truths and will therefore not seek truth as they believe it does not exist.  Other worldviews may admit that truth exists but claim there is little value in seeking it.  Still others may be agnostic, believing truth cannot be found or skeptical in that they believe truth changes over time.  Regardless, claims of truth are not trusted by either of these last two groups.  In the end none of these groups value truth in a way that will lead to a desire to develop discernment for the sake of discovering truth.  Without developing discernment leading to truth, life will fall short of fulfilment.

               In contrast, for those of us who believe in a Biblical God who created the universe with order and made us to comprehend it, we will be inclined to seek truth for the sake of knowing our Creator and obeying Him so that we can seek fulfilment in life.  Once we assign a high value to truth in the pursuit of a fulfilled life, we must then determine a trustworthy method of ascertaining what is true.  In other words we must develop greater and greater means of discerning fact from fiction and good from bad as we go through life. I repeat the fact that understanding the process of discernment and influences upon its practice will deepen one’s wisdom and ability to discern optimally.  Learning the following eight aspects of or influences upon understanding discernment will serve each of us well to learn but culminate in the final aspect listed below – going to the ultimate source of truth and discernment.

               First, discernment requires more than taking the data from the bare senses and regurgitating it as the senses can deceive in expected and unexpected ways.  We know that our hearing may miss quiet or distant sounds.  We know that our sight has a limited focus and can be distorted by suggestion and bias.  We know that each sense can cross influence the others.  In the midst of stressful circumstances, knowledge of the facts may become distorted making discernment more challenging.  Even how someone asks us what we witnessed in an event can influence our memory of it.  Without operating methodically through reason and logic, discernment according to senses alone cannot properly bear meaningful fruit.

               Second, discernment, when employing human reasoning, takes the data from our senses and from our accumulated memories to evaluate what is true from the collective data available.  In the middle of an event, one’s discernment must determine which sense should be given greater weight versus which sense or senses might be limited or distorted.  Discernment must determine if our senses could have missed perceiving something or have misperceived some detail.  Discernment must ask if a prior memory of a similar event distorts the perception of the current sensory input. For example, does your spouse’s tone of voice indicate anger and malicious intent similar to your own parents’ arguments years prior or did some event of the day hurt your spouse with you simply being the first person to hear the painful story?  Just as senses may be distorted, reasoning may also fall short of correct discernment when it fails to distinguish between reality and misperceptions. Discernment requires moving past reflexive defenses and avoiding over reliance on past events to interpret present events.  Such discernment cannot remain undeveloped if a fulfilled life is sought.

               Third, the ability of reason to combine all of this into a correct descriptive interpretation of reality requires not only time, but repeated experience in order to become adept at discernment.  Such discernment is not something we are born with although some tend to have more natural ability than others.  Each experience and practice of discernment provides opportunities to make wisdom and discernment better than before.  Confidence in correct interpretation of reality grows and the speed by which discernment occurs grows faster.  Even the complexity of life challenges may increase without decreasing accuracy with greater ability to discern over years of such practice.  However, even reasoning applied to our senses over repeated opportunities does not guarantee that discernment will lead to truth.

               Fourth, right use of the of the senses and their training along with right use of reason through training brings us a long way in the skill of discernment, yet the human sinful nature places limits on the results of our efforts.  As previously mentioned, our senses will fall short in some situations and reasoning will be forced to proceed with less than all the possible information it could use in discernment.  Additionally, unrecognized biases may leave one prone to mistakes in discernment.  Beyond that, we are faced with the bare facts of our sinful nature, faced with the reality that without a spiritual influence outside of our sinful desires and sinful habits, we risk even greater distortions than our physical limitations produce.  Sinful desires bias us towards false beliefs.  For example, the sin of pride increases the number and the influence of blind spots in our lives.  Without a recognition of sin within us, we will mistake motives, misread communication, and will fall short in discerning reality. 

               Fifth, the shortcoming of human ability becomes most apparent when we move beyond discerning “what is” and move into the realm of “ought”.  While discerning “what is” can be challenging enough with the fallibilities of our senses, without an outside frame of spiritual reference for morality, far less can be determined regarding the “ought” of right or wrong.  Many groups and even nations have sought to arrange life upon purely humanistic principles, but none has succeeded in a comprehensive approach to life.  Looking outside of humanity and its nature to a God above creation is our only option.  Knowing what constitutes right standards for ought requires a knowledge of what He revealed in the Bible as well as a spiritual connection to the one who wrote the Bible.  Such a connection goes beyond what many call an intuition of what is right or what should be, but instead recognizes a spiritual reality which influences beyond a purely physical sense. Great wisdom and discernment require more than great senses and great human reasoning, but a gift of spiritual insight from our Creator. 

               Sixth, besides the need for this spiritual discernment, given the paucity of wisdom born into children, a comprehensive ability to discern our proper response to the descriptive interpretation of reality must be accomplished not only as individuals but also vicariously through the collective wisdom of other’s lives.  Discernment stands alongside other skills in that it requires repetition for acquisition.  Rarely do the repetitions come as exact copies of the prior challenge, yet, the patterns develop when one challenge is overcome, allowing the similarities in the next challenge to be approached more successfully.  Given the great need and the multiplicity of potential challenges in life, we must also look to the lives of others practicing discernment and living out the wisdom that is desired.  We cannot afford to wait for their own experiences to develop discernment in all areas of life.  Instead, we must learn vicariously either through contemporaries further down the road of discernment, from prior lives who left a legacy of wisdom for surviving generations, or from the evidently bad examples offered frequently by the unwise.   Discernment deepens when wise counsel is sought and accepted from the lives of others either directly or indirectly.

               Seventh, as our ability to discern grows, we must nurture and maintain this gift as the skill can be lost rapidly.  While pride can sometimes make us think that past discernment will automatically repeat itself, discernment requires some maintenance of conscious effort and developed habits.  It is maintained by repeated intentional use.  Just as the aging brain thrives longer on word puzzles and challenges, so the mind and spirit of discernment thrives when applied to greater and greater challenges repeatedly. Setting it aside gathering dust disables any hope of receiving its prior benefits.  Neglect, disdain, and forgetfulness each detract from its efficacy.  The victories of prior discernment may even be forfeited by single acts of ignoring new opportunities for proper discernment.  Reputations fall and crash with such neglect and legacies can crumble when continued discernment is forsaken. 

               Finally, the ultimate source of truth and discernment originates from God and reaches us not only through a spiritually endowed sense of discernment but primarily through His revelation in His Word.  Unable to depend entirely on our sense perceptions as just noted and unable to depend entirely on our innate human reasoning as just noted, we find the superlative truths in the words of the Old and New Testaments.  While God’s gift of spiritual insight is required to fully plumb the depths of this revealed wisdom, truth cannot be attained and a trustworthy discernment for the optimal fulfillment of life is impossible without Biblical revelation.  Human reasoning guided by spiritually gifted insight when working with Biblically revealed truth enables us to discern the reality of present life and respond with wisdom approximating God’s truth after Him.  This is our best and only hope for living a fulfilled life in this present world and the one to come.

               Again, with the potential deceit of the senses, the limits of human reasoning, and the sinful nature of fallen man, those of us who seek truth require the continual practice of discernment empowered by spiritual insight firmly grounded in Biblical revelation.  To live a fulfilled life, a life of shalom described in other essays, we must discern which of the many offered paths of daily life lead to these goals.  This pursuit of a fulfilled life includes discernment in the area of physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual health.  Living as embodied souls means our physical habits affect our spiritual health and our spiritual habits affect our physical health while a life of discernment is our only hope of a fulfilled life before our Creator.  Caring for each part of our being and our relationships with others requires such attention to discernment.

               Next in the Series, “To Be Determined”