Discernment vs. Judgment

Most humans are endowed with varying degrees of the five traditional senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. In addition to these, some people are endowed with innate capacities for music, balance, symmetry, recognizing patterns, kinesthetic senses, rhythm, and intuition. These inborn senses can be developed further through continual application and practice.

Good judgment is one of these senses. The ability to size up a person or situation and to react prudently can be a valuable skill. Life is a lot like a play in which actors wear masks as they act out their roles. Some people are more adept at recognizing the true characters behind the masks.    

I used to think that judgment and discernment were synonymous. I no longer use these words interchangeably. I have observed young people with a good sense of judgment, but they lack discernment. Yet, discernment is not merely a product of age and experience either. For I have met older people with neither good judgment nor discernment.

I have come to believe that while good judgment is a human trait, discernment is a divine gift. Whereas good judgment allows you to see behind the masks, discernment enables you to know what’s going on backstage. You see beyond what is being presented on the world’s stage to the spiritual influences behind the drama.

Some people are good at watching a movie and predicting what’s going to happen and which characters are pretending to be good guys, but will actually turn out to be bad guys. This is similar to having good judgment. Discernment is more like watching a DVD movie with a director’s commentary—you don’t need to guess or use your intuition—you can hear the director’s voice telling you exactly what his intentions are as the scene is unfolding.

I have experienced brief moments of discernment—backstage passes that last mere minutes. Most of the time, I depend on my judgment rather than seek discernment. This is partially due to pride and the need to think independently. I tend to rely on my own previous experiences rather than listen to the Director’s voice.

“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” (1 Cor. 13:12 NLT)

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