In Hebrews 5:14 we learn that those who are spiritually mature “have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

Maturity is not a finish line where you have completed everything you need to know. There is continual training. A part of this training is learning to distinguish between good and evil. 

There is objective good and there is objective evil. They exist. They are real. Knowing the difference, and living your life in light of that difference, is a part of spiritual maturity.

In India, apparently there are street cleaners. But they’re not cleaning the streets, nor are the cleaning shoes. They go around asking people if they would like their ears cleaned. That’s right. There’s so much dust and gunk in the air that people get their ears cleaned in public by strangers!

Let me make a comparison. In our culture, there is invisible gunk entering our minds all day long. Discernment identifies godliness and discards gunk; it discerns the difference between good and evil and helps you to live your life accordingly.

Trust God. Trust the wisdom God gives. And grow.

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Notes:

— PODCAST: “The vitality of Bible Study—a talk with Douglas Rollwage.” Douglas has over 33 years of experience as a trusted Bible teacher. In this podcast interview we cover a lot of ground, touching on the vitality of Bible Study, the transformative effect of pilgrimage, common pushbacks, and how knowing God deepens your relationship with him. Click here to listen, or look for ‘The Pulse Podcast with Matthew Ruttan’ wherever you subscribe to podcasts: iTunes (Apple), Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or TuneIn.

–*As told in: Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola, Jesus Speaks: Learning to Recognize and Respond to the Lord’s Voice (Thomas Nelson: Nashville, 2016), xv.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.