Reflections
Judgment vs. Discernment
Jesus said, “Judge not that you be not judged.” (Matt. 7:1)
It is never God’s will for us to judge another person. But it is always God’s will for us to discern the Truth – even if it means we see wrong in another person. We need to grasp the difference.
“To judge,” in the way God forbids, means that we play God and decide what someone deserves. We are pronouncing a sentence against them. We are assuming that we know their heart. This is prohibited because there is no way for us to know a person’s heart the way God knows it. We have to leave room for God.
To discern, however, is to be able to distinguish right from wrong. It is to be able to know the Truth vs. error. This is essential. Indeed, the more I come to know Jesus Christ, the more discernment is going to be a by-product. Thus, to call evil by it’s name is not wrongly judging. It is discerning. God WANTS us to do so.
Godly discernment – a product of knowing Christ – will always carry the heart of God towards even those in whom I discern evil. I will desire what God desires – that they might be saved and come into the knowledge of the Truth. The goal will always be redemptive.