Command 11 : Be Perfect | Day 75

Be Perfect in Discernment!

When God told Solomon that He would give him anything he asked for, Solomon could have asked for riches, fame, power, or long life. Instead, Solomon requested the one thing that would bring him all of these: “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart ... that I may discern between good and bad” (I Kings 3:9).

Mature believers live in a world of right or wrong, because they have exercised their senses to discern good and evil.

Scripture describes immature believers as newborn babies. They are to desire the sincere milk of the Word, that they might grow up to maturity. (See I Peter 2:2.) As we mature in wisdom and faith, we will not only understand the deeper truths of Scripture, but we will also understand what God views as right and wrong.

The relationship between spiritual immaturity and discernment of right and wrong is clearly explained in Scripture. Paul longed to share the deeper truths of God's wisdom with new believers, but he was unable to do so because they were spiritually immature: “For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age [teleios], even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:13-14).

Immature believers live in a world between light and darkness. They label as "amoral" the things that look gray to them.

Immature living leads to immature decisions and the consequences of making unwise choices. The owner of a dental lab was in need of an assistant. He interviewed a woman who had all the technical skills he required and concluded that she would be ideal. However, his wife told him that she had cautions about hiring this woman. She could not explain her cautions, especially because everything looked so good on the outside. Nevertheless, she urged her husband to look for someone else.

The husband needed an assistant immediately, so he overruled the cautions (discernment) of his wife and hired the woman he had interviewed. As time went on, the business began to lose money. One day, the owner received a call from the state police, asking if he was missing any gold. He checked the stock of gold in his dental supplies and discovered that his assistant had been stealing gold and selling it for her own gain.

This man is one of many who have paid a high price for lack of discernment. A big step towards maturity is recognizing that God will give your wife discernment that He will not give to you so that you will know how integral she is to your success.

How many times have you made a decision that your wife seriously questioned? How many times did she turn out to be right? God gave you your wife to bring balance to your life, which manifests itself in clear discernment. Now would be a good time to express gratefulness to your wife for her vital role in your success!