Making Decisions - the art of Spiritual Discernment
We often say we're ‘spoilt for choice’ when trying to choose what to buy or what to do and there are so many alternatives or things to choose from. ‘Decisions, decisions’ is another expression I’ve heard and, indeed, used myself when confronted with a difficult issue or problem which needs to be resolved.
When we make choices or decisions we have to take all sorts of factors into account in order to come up with the best, or at least the most appropriate, solution. In terms of our spirituality this process is called ‘discernment’; discerning what is of God and what God desires of us.
Discernment is both a collective as well as an individual process. For the purposes of this article I will refer to the collective as the church. The choices and decisions an individual has to work through may well involve others. Equally, when a church response is called for, the mind of the church has to be discerned. However, the process of discernment will inevitably raise differing opinions within the individual and within the church. Sometimes these contrary thoughts will be very clear, what is ‘good’ and what is ‘bad or evil’. However, frequently amongst people of faith and good will, God's will has to be discerned between ‘good and good things’.
In his book The Life and Work of a Priest (SPCK 2007), John Pritchard refers to this as ‘living in two realities’. He says: we .... “should not be afraid of living in two realities. It’s what we do all the time. We live in the overlap of the human dimension (‘earth’) and the Divine dimension (‘heaven’).’’
This came home to me when it became very clear that the two congregations I minister to would soon be unable to maintain two church buildings and that one would have to close, sooner rather than later. The majority recognised and understood the dilemma we found ourselves in. The issue was which building should close? Of course this caused much discussion. A buildings group was formed and they came up with several options. Each member had to vote (a secret ballot) for each option in order of their preference. The outcome surprised us all as it was the least expected. God is a God of Surprises indeed.
The Bible in itself is a book about discernment. The Book of Deuteronomy (Ch30:15-20) gets to the heart of what discernment is - a covenant with God, an agreement by which God and God’s people agree to live faithfully in harmony and mutual love. David Lonsdale SJ says in his book Dance to the music of the Spirit (DLT 1992), “every day life poses a continuous succession of choices between two paths, the one leading to fullness of life in the love of God; the other leading in the direction that is ultimately dehumanising and destructive. Discernment is the capacity in the changing circumstances of daily life to distinguish between the two paths. ..... Discernment is the capacity to live a fully and truly human life.”
Lonsdale writes “Good discernment tends to reach different conclusions from those of everyday common sense. And that is because it has to do with allowing our deepest attitudes, aspirations, values and relationships to come to the surface, so that it is they which give shape and direction to our choices.”
Revd Jim Florance, Priest-in-Charge: Abersychan & Garndiffaith,
Diocesan Co-ordinator of Spiritual Direction
Wise Choices: A Spiritual Guide to Making Life's Decisions by Margaret Silf
Margaret Silf is a well-known spiritual writer and retreat leader. In this book, she looks at the spiritual ingredients that go into making sensible and sound decisions. She makes it clear that wise choices are built upon weighing all the options, assessing all the wisdom available to us, and listening to our gut feelings, intuitions, and inner compass. We should not let fear, self-doubt, or procrastination block our actions or intentions. Taking risks is an important part of our growth as human beings. "The freedom to move on means letting go of everything that holds us captive to the past. It also means accepting the consequences of whatever decision we have made."