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The Necessity Of Discernment
by Grant Rahme
 In John 7:24, Jesus says to the unruly temple crowd, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment”.
People often get caught up with how things appear to be rather than making an effort to truly discern how things actually are.
Most rational people know that a good advertising campaign can convince a lot more people to buy a mediocre or even an inferior product, simply because it is made to appear superior to similar products through the advertising hype.
The discerning buyer, however, is seldom attracted to the cosmetic wrapping of a product, or if they are, it is purely an aesthetic appeal. They do not go on to purchase the product if it does not offer something special - something more than the product they currently use already gives them. You need to give the discerning client a reason to change brands.
Yet how many of us practice the art of discernment in our daily lives? We all face a kaleidoscope of images in our daily bustle, regardless of where we are on the planet. Most of us filter this information according to the parameters set out by our culture, language, spiritual beliefs, and what is considered acceptable by the communities we live in. Once an image (or any sensory information) passes through our particular set of filters, we act accordingly.
These filters can be extremely useful in that they reduce the chaos of uncertainty by giving us hooks on which to hang the images that bombard us constantly: For example: Knowing to stop at a red light reduces  the risk of a collision; recognizing the irritation in your wife’s voice induces your placation (at least, it should); and preventing your child from jumping into the lion’s cage at the zoo could well save their lives.
As useful as these filters can be, they can also be detrimental to the undiscerning person. It is these very filters that govern our prejudice and bigotry. For example: “I know this homeless person is going to ask me for a buck, so I’ll just cross the road before he gets to me”. Perhaps the man is an angel sent to give you protection but you might lose the protection by judging his appearance.
In Jesus’ daily walk, we are shown that he was presented with many opportunities to filter out difficult situations, but instead of always following the rule of law or the strongly expressed opinions of the community, Jesus used his God-given discernment rather than being swayed by popular culture. He healed on the Sabbath, even though it was against protocol, telling the lame man to “Rise, take up your bed and walk” (John 5:7-8).
This angered the people who were stuck in the dreary routine of tradition. Jesus deftly turns the traditionalist argument on its head, explaining to them that in order to comply with the law of the fathers, they circumcise a man on the Sabbath. Why then should He not make a man well on the Sabbath?
Our troubled planet today offers many seductive images of how fantastic life will be if we just open this policy, or pop that pill, or vote for some party. Some are eventually drawn into the process of  propaganda and begin buying into it, while others who are more discerning simply switch the TV off and begin to read the Word.
In Matthew 16:3, in response to the Pharisees and Sadducees asking Him to show them a sign from heaven, Jesus calls them hypocrites, as they “…know how to discern the face of the sky”, but “…cannot discern the signs of the times”. He knows they are trying to test Him but He refuses to play their game. For knowing that if they are still blind and deaf to who He really is, no amount of signs and wonders will convince them. I am sure it must have frustrated Jesus the Son of Man to see how defiant people could be when it served their own selfish purposes.
If the body of Christ is unable to discern that we are in the midst of the latter days, then what will convince us? What’s more is Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 16:19, that the Church is in control of this situation: “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven”.
We have to begin using our gift of discernment, for many are they who profess to be doing good in the face of their evil. Jesus warns of this type when He rebukes the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:27-28: “…For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness”.
The world is by its very nature blind to the seductions of the evil one, which brings the role of the church to the forefront of this spiritual war that is being waged on planet earth today. We are given very clear instruction with regard to how we wage this war. Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:19,20, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in  heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them”.
My encouragement to the body of Christ is to apply the words of Christ to your lives in order to prevent popular culture from strangling that word. Pray that the Holy Spirit quickens you to an understanding of discernment and begin to seek the truth of every situation, which is often clothed with the trappings of its appearance. In Romans 12:2 the Apostle Paul sums it up perfectly by instructing us to not conform to the image of this world and its seductions, but instead to be transformed to the image of Christ by the renewing of our minds.
A discerning (or judiciously perceptive) spirit is essential to those who strive to be more Christ-like.
Grant Rahme
Grant is Bro. Peter's second eldest son and currently lives in Cape Town, South Africa
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