Preserve Judgment and Discernment

 

“My child, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck.”

—Proverbs 3:21-22

There exist certain qualities of life that we do well to preserve, even nurture. A strong sense of fairness expressed in offering justice to all with whom we come into contact represents one such quality. The second has equal importance: the ability to discern good from evil, truth from lies, proper motives from improper ones, and trustworthiness from deceitfulness.

In fact, judgment and discernment often go hand in hand. In order to act justly toward everyone, we must have discernment to separate people’s behavior into categories that inform the justice we need to lovingly and tenderly dispense.

King Solomon understood how important these two qualities are in the lives of God’s children. Notice what he wrote, as recorded in Proverbs 3:21-22:

My child, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck.

Here Solomon urges his children to not only exercise sound judgment and discernment, but to actually preserve them. He urges them to keep those qualities firmly in view at all times. And, he explains that by so doing, they will find that justice and discernment will offer God’s children life and give them a permanent reminder of His grace.

At the beginning of another new day, let’s follow Solomon’s advice. Let’s keep justice and discernment fully in view at all times. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to enhance our discernment so that we can respond by offering justice to all we meet along the road of life.

 

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