Pray for Discernment. Matthew 7:15-17, 20.

One of the toughest challenges of modern life is knowing whom to trust.

Whom can you date? Whom can you trust with your secrets? Whom can you hire? Whom can you elect? Which preacher is worthy of your attention? Which reporter or news organization can you trust to give you all sides of complex stories?

You know what makes the question of trust more difficult?

WE ARE LAZY.

We want easy answers. We rubber stamp people and situations. We have a bad habit of trusting ALL members of our political party, and rejecting ALL members of other political parties. We want to trust ALL the people at our church—which experience has proven to be a mistake—and we want to trust ALL preachers in our denomination (also a mistake).

This is a lazy approach. As a deeply honest person, I have a tendency to expect everyone else to be as honest as I am. I am inclined to trust everyone. But that’s a lazy and risky approach. Those who are deceitful tend to expect everyone else to be deceitful, so they trust no one. Again—lazy. 

So what’s to be done? First, PRAY for discernment. 

Ask God to guide you. Some have the spiritual gift of discernment and sometimes feel a “check” in their spirit about a person or situation that God may be leading them to avoid (beware: sometimes God is silent). You must remain close to God to hear His voice. Pray for discernment.

Second, analyze the fruit.

Jesus said good people bear good fruit. But you must look deeply. Look at their home life, at their marriage and children; the most important fruit borne by parents is their children. But again, pray for wisdom because parents are not responsible for everything their children do, whether good or bad.

Besides family life, examine the fruit relevant to the activity in question. Evaluate a teacher by looking at the progress of her students. Evaluate politicians by looking at the quality of the work they have done. Evaluate a reporter by considering his success in the field and what his colleagues think of him. 

Figure out what good fruit looks like, and see if you can find any growing out of the life of the individual in question.

“Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You shall know them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit…. You shall know them by their fruit” Matthew 7:15-17, 20.

1. Don’t be lazy;
2. Pray for discernment; and
3. Examine the fruit.

ΑΩ