Finding Your Spiritual Gift - Discernment
Articles By Kenneth MacLean
Discernment is a basic ability that any intelligent person has: to distinguish between one object and another. Knowing the difference between a Ferrari and a Camry can save you a lot of money!
But discernment gets more difficult when we are talking about relationships, or moral and ethical codes of conduct. Is it OK, for example, to break the rules if it benefits someone you think is doing good? Is it OK to tell lies in a relationship if you feel that what you have to say will hurt another?
These are issues that really demand an ability to discern.
Discernment is easiest when we merely have to distinguish between two different brands of tile, or curtains, or carpeting. It is hardest when we are deciding what to do in a relationship, or when we have to make a difficult life decision.
In other words, discernment is hardest the more an issue is remote from physicality, and closer to spirituality.
But the answer to any question in life, whether it be physical or spiritual, is simply this: does it make you feel better?
Why do you choose one car over another? Because you like it better.
Why do you choose to tell a white lie in a relationship? Because it makes you feel better to know that another person wont get hurt.
Basically, discernment -- other than the obvious practical decisions about the shape, size, and function of physical objects or devices -- comes down to FEELINGS.
In life, we get into trouble when we over-use the intellect, and dont pay enough attention to how we feel about something.
Examine your life and pick out the worst decisions you ever made. More than likely, these decisions resulted from a lack of attention to how you felt about it. Oh, sure, you might have picked the wrong computer because it didnt have a big enough hard drive, for example.
But the ones that really get you are the ones where you chose based on what other people said, or on some statistic, or perhaps a job that paid you more but that you dont like.
Discernment is more about paying attention to your inner voice than about analysis.
Even cerebral persons base life decisions on how they feel about them. The mathematician chooses math because he or she is in love with the beauty of numbers. The physicist gets off on delving into the secrets of the universe. If you ask any sane person why he or she does something, it ultimately will boil down to this: "I do it because I like it.
And that is what discernment is all about!
Choosing those things that make you feel the best, regardless of what life is screaming at you about.
About the author
Kenneth James Michael MacLean has written 8 inspiring books, over 100 content-rich articles, and produced four movies. Visit Ken at his personal website, The Big Picture, at http://www.kjmaclean.com
Keywords: Finding Your Spiritual Gift – Discernment, Discernment, Spiritual Gift, Intuition, inner voice, relationship, analysis, Kenneth MacLean, articles, UK, Cape Town, South Africa
