Page 10 - June 2025 - Truth & Tidings

Discernment – What Is It? tally or to distinguish something. So, to be
If God gave you the opportunity to able to discern something means to have
understanding and the ability to analyze
receive anything from Him, what would what is the best course of action. That
you ask for? Fame? Fortune? Followers? was the very thing God granted Solomon
A better marriage? A better prayer life? in 1 Kings 3:11 – “understanding,” or
Some requests would be far superior to
others. God did, in fact, ask that question “discernment” – being able to distinguish,
scrutinize, and separate between good
of a king many years ago. God appeared and evil. Solomon later wrote his own
to Solomon on that pivotal night and said,
“Ask! What shall I give you?” (1Ki 3:5). definition of the word when he advised,
1
Solomon’s answer reflected the reality “When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
of his love for the Lord as he replied in consider carefully [biyn] what is before
you” (Pro 23:1). So, Solomon in his experi-
a way that many of us would not have
if given the same opportunity. He said, ence would counsel us that discernment
“Give to Your servant an understanding involves not jumping to conclusions, not
heart to judge Your people, that I may making rash decisions, but considering a
discern between good and evil” (v9). For matter with care.
Solomon, there was nothing greater that When you come to the New Testament,
he desired, no grander blessing that he again there are two main words that com-
could imagine above discernment. That’s municate discernment, one being diakrinō,
what he desired, what he asked for, and which indicates to separate something
what God granted to him. That day, King thoroughly or to make a distinction. The
Solomon received discernment, and it second word, diakrisis, is a derivative of
paved the way for the most successful and the first, which means to make a judicial
blessed years of his life. estimation or distinction. The imagery
The Old Testament uses two different of the scale of justice comes to mind as
words to speak of discernment. Nâkar evidence is evaluated on both sides of the
appears 50 times in the OT and in essence balance to reveal which side carries more
means to scrutinize or to look at some- weight. The NT often speaks of maturity
thing intently. The other word which we being associated with good discernment,
encounter in the story of Solomon is biyn, primarily spiritual maturity, as is seen in
which appears over 160 times in the OT Hebrews 5:14: “But solid food belongs to
and signifies to separate something men- those who are of full age, that is, those
who by reason of use have their senses
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the exercised to discern both good and evil.”
NKJV. If we are immature Christians, still feeding

170 TRUTH kTidings June 2025