Discernment vs. Discrimination
06.17.20
I see way too many Christians discriminating against others (people groups, churches, individuals, leaders etc) in the name of discernment. These two things are NOT the same and we must be vigilant to separate ourselves from any form of discrimination, because it does not please God. It grieves Him deeply.
Discernment is a gift from God to rightly separate good from evil with the intention of bringing God’s plan for restoration and redemption to that which is broken. Discrimination is to prejudge a person or people group based on a combination of external appearances and your past experiences with people who look or act like that person, and to treat them differently because of it.
Both of these concepts start with an internal thought and end in an action. Contrary to popular belief, discernment isn’t just about protecting ourselves. Think about it. The man with the greatest discernment of all time was Jesus, and He literally laid His life down for the very people who crucified Him. He knew what spirit Judas iscariot was operating in, yet he still let him become a disciple and also let him stay with him until that spirit manifested in betrayal! He even got down on his knees in humble service and washed Judas’ feet. This was just moments before Jesus released him from the Passover feast, knowing the he was going to turn Him in! That’s a hard thought to consider as a leader in the church, but it’s a true one.
I can’t for one second imagine Jesus mistreating another human being with some cheap justification that He was doing it because He had discernment and “knew what spirit they were of”. Nor can I imagine him avoiding certain people because of the deception and bondage they walked in. If anything, We see Him directly and boldly confronting the hardest of hearts. His discernment was actually rooted in selfless love for the purpose of seeing these people delivered from evil and deception. With Jesus the progression of discernment always went from information about a person to intercession for that person to interaction with that person. If any part of this equation is left out, it is void of power.
Discrimination is counterfeit discernment. It’s rooted in a spirit of self-preservation or a selfish desire to bolster ones ego. I’d venture to say most things done in the name of discernment in the church are actually just veiled discrimination. Most of the time, people have no intent to pray for the individual they’re defaming in gossip, let alone planning on going to them with the willingness to walk that person through the difficult process of deliverance and freedom.
Discernment has three parts:
Information- Listen to the heart of God. He is the only one who can judge rightly, simply because he is the only one who knows the hearts and intents of man. This has nothing to do with external appearances, and everything to do with bringing anything dark into the light of God’s truth (what He considers to be good and evil).
Intercession- Pray for God to give you His heart for redemption. Ask Him for action steps of how to bring healing and deliverance to the person that He has chosen to entrust you with. Petition God for solutions to the problems you are uncovering.
Interaction- Develop relationship with that person, serve them and invest in them. At God’s appointed time, confront the person in deep love, with a right heart that longs to see them restored. God may even ask you to help them walk through their restoration process by becoming a form of accountability. We have no right to address issues, that we aren't willing to provide solutions for.
Discernment can never be infected with human assumption, selfish ambition or self preservation, or it will be completely defiled and cease to operate in the way it was created to be used. Its like the difference between prophets and psychics. Both are open to the supernatural realm, but one is rooted in the heart of God’s selfless love while the other is playing into the hand of the enemy for selfish gain. Sadly even these two things get confused in the church at times. I’ve seen my fair share of self-proclaimed prophets who were not actually operating from a spirit of love, and therefore were no better in God’s eye than a psychic. Motive is everything to God. Selfishness feeds the satanic, so regardless of if we know it or not, if the motive is not love, we are operating in a spirit other than the Holy Spirit.
Romans 12:2 TPT says, “Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.”
If discernment was a spiritual sense it would be likened to the nose. Because it is a knowing that comes from being in close proximity to something. The closer you are to God’s heart, and the more you trust in His judgements and intentions, the easier it is to sense what He sees as good and bad.
When you’ve grown to live in the awareness of the the sweet fragrance of God’s presence, it becomes incredibly evident when something that is opposed to His presence begins to invade the environment. Kinda like when I’m used to smelling sweet candles in my home, but my child runs by with a poopy diaper and their stench becomes all the more evident and offensive to my nostrils. In that moment, I have two choices. I can either show compassion for my child, actively serve them by dealing with and disposing of their mess, and eventually potty train them so they don’t make messes anymore. Or I can let them sit in it and try to avoid them so I don’t have to smell it anymore, and let the bacteria of their mess create wounds and rashes on their skin while trying to preserve myself from the smell. Anyone who is reading those two choices would immediately consider the second choice abuse, and yet so often that is what we do in the church to immature believers. We refuse to help them with their mess, and allow their mess to begin tearing them apart in efforts to preserve ourselves from the inconvenience. It’s wrong. Yes, eventually people have to grow up, and be “potty trained,” learning the accurate way to deal with their messes, but ultimately, we can’t expect them to train themselves or to learn in a day.
“The only clean stable is an empty stable. So if you want the work of an ox and to enjoy an abundant harvest, you’ll have a mess or two to clean up!”
Proverbs 14:4 TPT
How you react to your children when they make small messes will determine if they will trust you enough to come to you with the big ones. Don’t let your areas of woundedness be triggered. The reactions will cause others to shut down to receiving your correction because they’ll start questioning your intentions and whether you truly have their best interest in mind.
At the beginning of 2020, I had a funny dream that has stuck with me. The interpretation of each part of the dream is italicized.
I was going to some sort of prom in a weird warehouse.
Prom symbolizes the church’s plans being changed. This year there was no prom for kids- in some cases it was made a virtual event. Many have an idea of revival looking put together and formal, yet it will look much different than we think. The warehouse/ locker room represents God taking us into something we did not expect. He’s stripping us down to bare bones.
The warehouse was not well decorated, nor was it a pretty place to gather.
God’s shifting our focus from performance, comfort and pretty buildings back to the church of Acts.
I was late but supposed to be in charge.
This represents the church not showing up and being responsible with our God-given authority.
Some were dressed up in ball gowns, yet others were wearing swim suits.
The dresses represent what’s worn to impress others. It’s also symbolic of the church being more concerned with dressing to people please more than they are concerned with putting on their armor. The people in swim suits represent the part of the church that is following the prophetic voice of God and therefore is prepared for what is coming. (Later in the dream a flood comes). It’s also symbolic of stripping away pride and the need for man’s affirmation.
I was upset bout how it turned out.
This represents unmet expectations breeding discouragement.
There was barely anyone there.
God is more concerned with a REMNANT showing up than He is a crowd.
I have a brief memory of a truck backing into the space and back out. I think it was my dad, but I didnt leave with him for some reason.
This represents not having an escape mentality regarding the end times. Don’t put your focus on going away with your Father God and leaving the world behind. Now is the time to occupy!
I had a newborn baby with me.
Revival has been birthed, now is the time to mature it.
An old lady and her family were there and I let them hold the baby. They broke down crying because their mom had been estranged, but she was still technically family. I wanted a picture of her with the baby. I knew letting her hold the baby caused a new hope to arise in her heart for life.
Do not count out the older generations in the next move of God. There is a group of intercessors in the body that have felt estranged because they’ve been misplaced and seen as useless, but as revival comes, allowing them to take part in stewarding it will breath new life into them.
Suddenly, an enemy ambushed us. I tried to run out the front door but there were people waiting with guns. Other people who were in front of me tried to escape, but they had no weapons and got shot.
Those with open doors, who are unprotected because of lifestyles of sin will see major casualties. Don’t be unwise in your warfare. Use the weapons of warfare against the enemy.
I slide into a side door or a garage outside. I found myself becoming friends with the guys on the enemy side because of my fear. I was hoping if I acted like them, they’d leave me alone.
This is symbolic of how much of the church has responded to the enemy attacks. Out of fear, the church has befriend the world and allowed the Spirit of the age to render us powerless.
These enemy soldiers would only let me pass them if I’d do sexual favors for them
The enemy is looking for those who will compromise, mingle and breed with his kind, to infect others. The enemy is seducing many in the body of Christ to give into their flesh rather than walking in the spirit.
The building changed suddenly. They somehow rigged a river way to flood into the building.
Isaiah 59:19 talks about the enemy coming like a flood.
A rushing river came through. There was a small ledge on the side of the river. It was almost like the city of Venice, Italy. Many people were drowning in the river. Others were up along the ledge trying to get away. I climbed up and tried to run. I watched as other were hit with daggers and blades in their eyes. Everywhere I looked, people had been blinded by the enemy. He had taken out their sight, and they walked around aimlessly like the walking dead.
This represents an attack on our faith, because it kept them from being able to see the truth. I knew this was about the enemy causing what we see in the natural to bring us into deception and blindness.
They tried to overpower me, but I got away. It looked like there were little restaurants set up along the river flowing and they were attacking people who were eating.
Restaurants are where you eat. This represents specific attacks on churches (the places you gather to be “fed” spiritually).
I followed a staircase into a basement cell and found a remnant of people who couldn’t see. In fact, they had no eyes. Their noses took up their whole face. They sat in rocking chairs, and were at complete peace in the midst of what was going on in the city. They somehow knew and foretold all that was happening and they had incredible insight and wisdom.
A remnant is rising with incredible discernment. They will not live by sight, but by the spirit and it will keep them from being vulnerable to the strategy of the enemy. They will live in peace and trust, knowing the times and seasons. They will not be anxious, but will stay in the secret place abiding in the protection of God.
We are coming into a day and age where discernment will be increasingly important. Now is a time, to find yourself in the secret place encountering God for His wisdom instead of looking to the natural realm. Only God's perfect vision and judgement can lead us to safety and success, we must only look to Him so that we aren't led distracted or led astray.
“You’ve allowed our enemies to prevail against us. We’ve passed through fire and flood, yet in the end you always bring us out better than we were before, saturated with your goodness.”
Psalms 66:12 TPT
“But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
Hebrews 5:14 ESV
