From Discernment to New Life

When big decisions loom ahead, we often wonder what to do. We may ask ourselves, what does God want me to do? What does God want for us? What is the “best” decision? Utilizing wisdom and understanding in these moments is commonly known as discernment. The more time I have spent with this passage from Romans, the more I see that Paul is fleshing out the full meaning of discernment. The new life in Christ that Paul speaks about is not just about having more faith or doing the right things. The new life is the becoming, the transformation. Our whole selves are rooted in Christ so that our whole life becomes what it was always meant to be – a response to the goodness of God’s perfect will. Ours is the process of becoming, growing into, the good creation we were always intended to be; whereas, God’s will is complete, whole, and perfect. As we are made whole, healed, and united, we live into our purpose, and God’s will is made known to the world. 

Some may conclude that Paul’s explanation of the new life in Christ comes down to living a perfect, pure, and sinless life. I mean, he says, right there, that God’s will is perfect, right? However, the connotation and use of the word have more to do with growth and maturity, not moral perfection. What is growth, if not a form of becoming?

Paul walks us further into understanding our purpose of wholeness and maturity in Christ. From our transformed minds, attuned to God’s will, we can step forward in our discernment of self and others. The hierarchy is stripped away. We are all members of the same body. Though our function and faith may differ, we are God’s. We are all equally precious. We each have the same purpose; though, it may be lived out through different means. 

The task of removing hierarchy is difficult. We humans like to feel special, important, and measure ourselves against each other. Unfortunately, we humans also have limited, or imperfect, abilities to honestly and truthfully evaluate ourselves. Psychologists and neuroscientists have scientifically proven how, why, and in what ways we do this through a variety of research. One of the most famous examples is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect.

The Dunning-Kruger effect, at its core, suggests that people fail to recognize their intellectual and social shortcomings because they simply lack the expertise necessary to see them. As such, the effect reflects a double-curse: People’s deficits cause them to make many mistakes, and then those exact same deficits prevent them from seeing their decisions as mistakes. As a consequence, the pervasive tendency for people to overrate themselves and their talents is not necessarily due to their ego, but rather to intellectual deficits that they cannot see. 

You can also watch a five minute explanation here. 

Rather than being trapped in biased, scattered and incomplete decision-making, we can recognize what we know and don’t know, and bring it all to God. In our process of transformation, we are integrated. As we grow and are shaped by God’s intention, we turn inwardly to know all of who we are. We heal within ourselves and then, in our relationship to others. We experience reconciliation and in that healing we know wholeness. Our actions, words, and life will then reflect God’s will. It is then that all that we do becomes vocation. 

Paul lists seven important vocations, all of which are incomplete without discernment. Each vocation exemplifies the necessity of wholeness within ourselves and in relationship to others. Each vocation is for the purpose of God’s will, becoming a new creation in Christ.

• Prophecy in proportion to faith – Prophecy flows from faith. The prophetic words for community require a balance with the prophet’s faith. Faith is defined as a complete trust or confidence in someone or something. If a prophet is speaking from incomplete trust and lack of faith, how is it in response to a discernment and fulfillment of God’s will?

• Ministry in ministering – All ministry is for the purpose of attending to the needs of someone. If the need is not there, but the “ministry” is, how is it in response to discernment?

• The teacher in teaching – A teacher is one who shows or explains to (someone) how to do something. The only way one can show or explain to another is by fully understanding what it is they themselves know and do not know. If a teacher is unable or unwilling to be taught and shaped by God’s will, how will those they teach learn and experience new life in Christ?

• The exhorter in exhortation – A skilled exhorter will be charismatic and persuasive. Their work is to address or communicate, emphatically urging someone to do something. If their exhortation is not grounded in a continuous discernment process, how easy will it be for them to manipulate others toward a purpose and action other than God’s will? 

• The giver in generosity – Generosity is the quality of being kind and generous. Giving is a matter of vocation! Being a generous giver is a quality that infuses our full lives, not just a church’s financial stewardship. If the giver is not giving out of kindness and instead a begrudging perspective of scarcity and duty, how is it in response to a life transformed by the will of God?

• The leader in diligence: Leadership is not just about having a special title or always being in the front of the room. Paul defines the gift of a leader by their diligence, their careful and persistent work or effort. This careful and persistent effort is proportionate to their careful and persistent discernment. If a leader is not careful in their work with others, how will they lead them into a life of wholeness and healing?

• The compassionate in cheerfulness – Those who are compassionate can also struggle with burnout and exhaustion, bitterness and cynicism. That is why compassion must be grounded in accompaniment and a continuous return to discernment. When compassion for ourselves and others originates in the new life of Christ, our lives are refreshed with cheerfulness, which is the quality or state of being noticeably happy and optimistic. Optimism comes from our hope in the new life for all of creation promised in Christ. If cheerfulness does not accompany compassion, how does that compassion come from a response to God’s will?

In each of these vocations, there is a cycle of return to discernment, centered on God’s intended purpose for all of creation, a return to self, and another turn out into community. In each turn we grow and become more wholly who God created us to be. Ultimately it is all by the grace of God. All we can do is keep showing up, presenting ourselves before God’s mercy, and living into the gifts God has given us. It is in the process of our transformation that we will grow in our knowledge of God and others will know God through us.

No matter what questions arise for us in the days to come, no matter our decisions, God will not abandon us. Each step is a new step in becoming. May you learn from Paul’s words what it is to live in this cycle of discernment and new life in Christ. May it free you to share this abundant life with others in through your whole life.