When it comes to journeying through life—and to making decisions in general—discernment is important. It involves sifting through information, figuring out right from wrong, and going forward based on what you’ve discovered.

If someone is “discerning,” it usually means that they are deliberate and proactive about their choices.

When Solomon prayed to God to be a good King, he asked for discernment: “So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong” (1 Kings 3:9). When he was discerning he got a lot of things right. Later in his life (when he stopped being so discerning) he got a lot of things wrong.

Recently I came across a helpful insight by Charles Spurgeon, the 19th century preacher: “Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It’s knowing the difference between right and almost right.”*

I think this is an illuminating quote we should carry with us through our entire lives. Here’s why.

There are a lot of ideas which sound right. But they’re not; they are ALMOST right. That’s why they are easy to believe and buy into: they include SOME truth, but not the WHOLE truth. That’s what Spurgeon was getting at.

All of this begs the question. How do we know the difference right and almost right? Here’s how: We know the difference based on a prayerful and thoughtful reading of the Bible.

Anyone can pull up Google and find an isolated Bible passage to support this idea or that idea. That is looking at a verse in isolation and not being informed about the wider context. In contrast, when we study the entirety of what God has given to us in the Bible, we are going to understand his will with greater clarity on a whole range of subjects. If we continue to be unsure, we speak to other faithful people who are humbly and consistently seeking God’s will.

Life can be confusing and difficult. It can be hard to know what is right or what decision to make. So be discerning. Immerse yourself in the Word—not just here and there, but everywhere.

“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It’s knowing the difference between right and almost right.”

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Notes:

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–*Quoted by Dr. Christopher Yuan in chapter 5 of his curriculum called Holy Sexuality.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.