9 Points on Discernment, Discretion, Wisdom, and Boldness

One day in my late teens, I was fishing with my dad. We were fishing in a friend’s pond and the boat was locked up. The pond was miles off the main road, so I asked my dad, “Why does Mr. Joe lock the boat with a padlock?” My dad decided to pass on a little nugget of wisdom; He said, “Son, padlocks keep an honest man honest.” That wise statement has stayed with me until this day.

For all our champion partners, this article is about 9 points from Scripture that will help us remember how important and blessed we are to have discretion, discernment, wisdom, and boldness. I hope these 9 points stay with you as long as my father’s wisdom has stayed with me.

1. Discernment will help us see our culture as it is on the verge of collapse as a part of God’s plan.

This tension in our Nation right now is God’s eternal plan. There is tension in politics and tension between people with different skin color. All this rage and anger is allowed to happen so the Christian can point people to the peacemaker (Ephesians 2:14-16). God allows this tension so that we have to struggle and let the scriptures shape, prune, and mold us. These tense conversations will shape and make us more like Jesus, as long as we humbly let the truth transform us.

2. 1 Samuel 25:33: “Blessed is your discernment, and blessed are you, because today you kept me from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand.”

Abagail had a husband who was doomed for destruction. He was neither grateful nor thankful. Abagail gave what was needed in that moment. Discernment gives us the ability to put things in proportion according to how they need to be addressed. Abagail dealt with the problem at hand with discernment, thanking David by giving him gifts and being honest about her husband, Nabil.

How can we respond with honesty and proportion like Abagail? The current state of our nation calls for us to be honest and respond to the greatest needs. Someone being pulled over for the shade of their skin color is bad. But thousands of human beings dying in the womb just because a parent says they either can’t afford them, or it’s not the right time, is no proper justification either.

In 2016, 49% of African American children were aborted, and 4% were miscarried in NYC the total dying in the womb to 53%. Both profiling a person for their skin color and murdering children is evil, but what is the most pressing issue? The media and the loudest voices show the disproportionate action that is taken at this time. I’m not saying injustice is not taking place, but we can't scrape the whole police force for a low percentage of bad apples.

3. 1 Kings 3:11: “So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice.””

Discerning and understanding how to apply justice to every situation is important to God’s heart. Look at what God did for Solomon. Solomon asked for wisdom, discernment, and how to be just. God gave those attributes and much more to him. Let’s all stand up and demand justice, but let our focus be where the truth needs us to act.

This will kill virtue signaling because the truth of the facts will not point you to the narrative of the media or BLM organization. It will point you to the divided African American home. There are 72% of people growing up in single family homes—and African Americans made up just 12 percent of the U.S. population in 2016, but accounted for 38 percent of reported abortions. Where is the justice for the African American babies? Almost 237,000 died in the womb (estimated). One of the signs that the judgment of God is on the land is that the leaders and pastors cannot discern how to apply justice. Job 12:20 states, “He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders.”

Justice is backwards right now. People are calling good evil (rule of law and 99.9 of police officers doing their job fair), and calling evil good (people destroying our cities). The violent aggressor is claiming to be the victim.

4. Psalm 2:10: “Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.”

What is going on in the streets of Seattle, Chicago, and Portland shows that the elected leaders can either no longer discern, or they do not care what is good and what is evil. Allowing young people to roam the streets at night and destroy federal and private property without consequences is neither good or wise. If wisdom does not prevail from the heads of the land, the warning of the Lord is clear; He will break them like a rod iron smashing a clay vessel.

5. Psalm 119:66: “Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands.”

The Christian needs to pray for discernment because we believe in the universal truth of God’s word, and we have the answer that everyone is looking for. From his commands comes knowledge and good judgment. We need discernment to navigate these times, and we need to be praying for our leaders to have discernment and that God would remove those who cannot discern or refuse to stand for good and expose evil. We need a reinstatement of justice again in the city streets and justice for all ethnic groups, police, and the court system. Only the Gospel can answer this problem—not Critical Race theory, Black Liberation Theology, or the Social Justice Movement.

6. Proverbs 2:3: “Cry out for discernment plead with God for it. Don’t just assume that you have perfect discernment in any given situation.”

We must cry out in prayer and wrestle with God until he gives it. When clarity comes from the Scriptures, you can stand against all of hell alone. If you have discerned between what is good and evil, you are standing on the truth of God’s word. We cannot assume that our discernment is going to be perfect in any given situation. So we need to check it against the word of God and other wise Christians.

Here is an example of God giving Christians great discernment and boldness during times of great need. What God has done through John MacArthur and his church elders standing up against a mayor who has over-stepped his bounds has been done with great care and discernment. Here is their official statement.

7. Isaiah 29:11: “Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.”

In context, this passage is God’s chosen people that had turned away. They were saying one thing and doing another proving their hearts were a million miles away. God’s judgment on a people who are religious but reject him is the stripping of their discernment. It is hidden from them as a child hides from their friends during a game of hide and seek. They have neither wisdom nor discernment. This shows us that being either religious or a pastor does not mean you have Godly discernment. God will hide the ability to discern from those who are either religious for personal gain, or virtue signaling because of the fear of man and wanting to be liked. This is a sign of judgment, and I fear God is allowing a refining to happen to His church in America.

8. Daniel 2:14: “When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and discretion.”

When the pressure is on, God the Holy Spirit will show up and give discernment, wisdom, and discretion when it is needed the most. No matter how stressful the times become, God will give what is needed to discern between good and evil, and right and wrong. However, we need the courage to move forward and to speak, and not to back down from the truth of the deliverance from sin through Jesus. When the people of God stand in the hard times, God can bring a revival to the church and awakening in the culture. Now is not the time for weak men and women of God. We need the strength to stand and speak truth to a culture that is slowly imploding on itself.

9. Philippians 1:9: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.”

Dear Pastor, I am praying for you and your discernment. Why? Because of the pressure you have on you to capitulate to our culture’s screaming voice. What I see now is going to be a huge stumbling block for the White pastor and Christian in America the next year. The average Christian in America is already struggling with the fear of man and being faithful to share the Gospel. Pick up my book, Into The Harvest to learn more. If people were already scared to share the gospel, this is going to make preaching and sharing the Gospel that much harder across ethnic groups, because it adds another layer of fear of man. Namely, white guilt and white privilege. A white American bound up with white guilt and white privilege will never be able to call an African American to repent of their sins and believe in Jesus to be forgiven. This extra layer fear will further separate them from the authority that the Scriptures give them to go out and share with all creation.

The justice of God’s hell and the wrath that it brings to a sinner will get completely shuffled to the back of the room in this conversation. The preaching will become weaker, and if we—and I say we, because I am a white American—cannot confront the sinner with the wrath and justice of God because of their sins against Him and the answer found on the blood stain cross, then peace between ethnic groups will never happen.

This is a defining time for the American church. God is going to refine His bride and we can do nothing but let God be God. I hope the 9 points in this article will stick with you, as my dad’s wisdom has stuck with me and becomes a useful tool to help you navigate our volatile culture. Until next month, go out and proclaim the Gospel to see a life transformed