In the Orthodox ascetic literature the, gift of discernment is extremely valued, second only to repentance. St. Paul lists it as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
So what is discernment? In short, it is our ability to tell the source of the thoughts that we have. Is the source holy or unholy? You know how it is in cartoons; a person is faced with
a dilemma that will test his or her character. An angel and the devil appear on that person's shoulders and each has some piece of advice how to proceed further.
If things were so easy in real life. Thing is, well demons do tempt us with clear sins they do get insidious and try to tempt us in covert ways. For example, you are hanging out in your room and suddenly...
"Come on, call that girl! You know that she likes you!"
"Oh, I don't know..."
"Do it! She'll make a lovely wife... eventually. Just call her."
"Sounds risky!"
"Oh just call her up for a movie! What's the first thing that can happen? It won't be like... the last time..."
"Fight him!"
"Wait a minute, you're trying to get me to fornicate, aren't you?"
"What, me!?"
"Fend him off!"
"Begone!"
"You're so much stronger than him!"
*hisses*
"You are better than that!"
"I won't be tempted by your sly ways, serpent!"
"That's it you, defeated the devil!"
As you can see from the example I provided devil loves to play covertly. He knows all too well that if he says simple commands, like kill or fornicate, he's out in the open field. Now a person who has a gift of discernment knows which voice comes from demons. It's actually both of them. Let's see the example by the lens of discernment.
"Come on, call that girl! You know that she likes you!"
"Oh, I don't know..."
"Do it! She'll make a lovely wife... eventually. Just call her."
"Sounds risky!"
"Oh just call her up for a movie! What's the first thing that can happen? It won't be like... the last time..."
"Fight him!"
"Wait a minute, you're trying to get me to fornicate, aren't you?"
"What, me!?"
"Fend him off!"
"Begone!"
"You're so much stronger than him!"
*hisses*
"You are better than that!"
"I won't be tempted by your sly ways, serpent!"
"That's it you, defeated the devil!"
What seemed like a battle between purity and fornication was, in fact, a fight between pride and fornication. By defeating the lesser temptation, the man fell into a greater sin. Now, how to obtain the gift of discernment?
Well, first of all it is a gift, so you may have it, you may not have it. God may grant it to you, He may not. He knows the best. We all have degrees of it. Without it we couldn't tell good and evil apart. The gift usually refers to detecting the most fine of traps. Praying for this particular gift is the way to go and thankfully, our church has provided us with some great weaponry in these regards along prayer. The first is your spiritual father. Your spiritual father is a great sieve for rooting out these little serpents. Not only are two heads smarter than one, but spiritual fathers have a special gifts regarding their spiritual children. Don't have a spiritual father? Pray for one and the Lord will send you one. Reading the Scripture and the writings of saints is a great way to develop your sense by which to detect the origin of your thoughts, as both we have a great way to say about God, angels, demons and how they influence our daily life.
The most important way is to be humble, ask for other people's opinion, don't think yourself better than others and you'll be fine. It's simple, but not easy.
When Saint Anthony the Great saw the devilish temptations in the world manifested as incredibly intricate webs, he uttered "Lord, who can pass through these?" and he
heard a voice: "The humble."
So what is discernment? In short, it is our ability to tell the source of the thoughts that we have. Is the source holy or unholy? You know how it is in cartoons; a person is faced with
a dilemma that will test his or her character. An angel and the devil appear on that person's shoulders and each has some piece of advice how to proceed further.
If things were so easy in real life. Thing is, well demons do tempt us with clear sins they do get insidious and try to tempt us in covert ways. For example, you are hanging out in your room and suddenly...
"Come on, call that girl! You know that she likes you!"
"Oh, I don't know..."
"Do it! She'll make a lovely wife... eventually. Just call her."
"Sounds risky!"
"Oh just call her up for a movie! What's the first thing that can happen? It won't be like... the last time..."
"Fight him!"
"Wait a minute, you're trying to get me to fornicate, aren't you?"
"What, me!?"
"Fend him off!"
"Begone!"
"You're so much stronger than him!"
*hisses*
"You are better than that!"
"I won't be tempted by your sly ways, serpent!"
"That's it you, defeated the devil!"
As you can see from the example I provided devil loves to play covertly. He knows all too well that if he says simple commands, like kill or fornicate, he's out in the open field. Now a person who has a gift of discernment knows which voice comes from demons. It's actually both of them. Let's see the example by the lens of discernment.
"Come on, call that girl! You know that she likes you!"
"Oh, I don't know..."
"Do it! She'll make a lovely wife... eventually. Just call her."
"Sounds risky!"
"Oh just call her up for a movie! What's the first thing that can happen? It won't be like... the last time..."
"Fight him!"
"Wait a minute, you're trying to get me to fornicate, aren't you?"
"What, me!?"
"Fend him off!"
"Begone!"
"You're so much stronger than him!"
*hisses*
"You are better than that!"
"I won't be tempted by your sly ways, serpent!"
"That's it you, defeated the devil!"
What seemed like a battle between purity and fornication was, in fact, a fight between pride and fornication. By defeating the lesser temptation, the man fell into a greater sin. Now, how to obtain the gift of discernment?
Well, first of all it is a gift, so you may have it, you may not have it. God may grant it to you, He may not. He knows the best. We all have degrees of it. Without it we couldn't tell good and evil apart. The gift usually refers to detecting the most fine of traps. Praying for this particular gift is the way to go and thankfully, our church has provided us with some great weaponry in these regards along prayer. The first is your spiritual father. Your spiritual father is a great sieve for rooting out these little serpents. Not only are two heads smarter than one, but spiritual fathers have a special gifts regarding their spiritual children. Don't have a spiritual father? Pray for one and the Lord will send you one. Reading the Scripture and the writings of saints is a great way to develop your sense by which to detect the origin of your thoughts, as both we have a great way to say about God, angels, demons and how they influence our daily life.
The most important way is to be humble, ask for other people's opinion, don't think yourself better than others and you'll be fine. It's simple, but not easy.
When Saint Anthony the Great saw the devilish temptations in the world manifested as incredibly intricate webs, he uttered "Lord, who can pass through these?" and he
heard a voice: "The humble."
