Objectivity and Discernment

Objectivity
11/13/05
When praying for your conversation with a difficult person, it is best to be
“objective”. In my mind, objectivity is “not owning what is not your stuff”. So, how do we know the truth about what is our stuff, and what is the other person’s stuff, when confronted with accusations?

We know that we should “own” the contents of our hearts. Though our hearts can be deceitful, God brings its contents to our knowledge and helps us to deal with it. Satan just lies to us. The verse that came to me about this is 1 John 3:19,20; “This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything.” My study Bible says that if our conscience is oversensitive, we can quiet this condemnation by the knowledge that God Himself has declared active love to be an evidence of salvation (verse 18).

The book of 1 John is the “how to know and see” book. It is a great guide on how to be objective about what is in our hearts, and the hearts of others, by what we see. In this book John tells us such things as
why the world does not receive us (3:1)
Who is righteous (3:7)
Who is of the devil(3:8)
How the children of the devil act (3:10)
How the children of God act, and why they cannot continue in sin (3:9)
How we know we have passed from death to life (3:14)
How to know what true love is (3:16)
How we know when we fail at love (3:17)
How love behaves (3:18)
How we know we belong to truth (3:19)
How we know He lives in us (3:24)

So this is a principle I wanted to write to you about, in order to be objective with anyone who condemns you; once you establish what you “know” and what you ”see”, you can separate yourself from the lies of the enemy. Owning the truth about yourself is important. It becomes that belt which is fastened around your waist, holding up the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. When the enemy assaults you, you need the belt of truth to keep the Word of God at hand. Then you can speak the Word of God to your accuser. If your enemy can confuse you about the truth, then there’s nothing to hold the sword on with.

Here is a Word the Lord gave me last August which fits well here; “Discernment is the weapon against condemnation. Truth is the weapon against confusion. The strength of the strong-in-faith is in maintaining their victories. Without discernment, the battles of the mind cannot be won, and faith in what is true will be cast aside for belief in what is a lie. Discernment will lead to wisdom if a man fears God and loves the truth.”