Develop Discernment to be Creative in Chaotic Times (Luke 24:13-35)

Spiritual Advantage with Sam Stone

Recently, there’s been a lot of news about ChatGPT and whether we should fear Artificial Intelligence (AI). Are we creating a robotic device that one day might become a monster to destroy us? For now, it’s fascinating to see what it can do. You might have already tried it and seen some fantastic outcomes.

The last time I asked ChatGPT to write a sermon for me, it couldn’t do that. Since the release of a new version, I tried it out again and discovered it could write a pretty nice sermon for me; even though it’s not my style because it’s a little touchy-feely and fuzzy-wuzzy, it’s quite usable.

I don’t preach fuzzy-wuzzy sermons; I like to push the envelope and challenge people. However, AI is getting smarter every day. Soon, you will be able to ask AI to write a sermon in Sam Stone’s style, John Piper’s style, or Rick Warren’s style. Furthermore, it will be able to preach in my voice and might do an even better job impersonating me.

My avatar will be able to preach better than I do. I am glad I am approaching retirement age. Actually, that’s the good part of AI. The world can always use many good sermons.

The downside is that people could use AI to impersonate your relative and scam you. They will appear on your video chat, such as Facetime, looking and sounding precisely like your son or daughter asking you to transfer a thousand dollars to their bank urgently.

That’s scary, you might say. That’s right, and that’s why Elon Musk and a bunch of technology leaders ask Congress to halt the development of AI and come up with regulations. Whenever we have a breakthrough in science and technology, we encounter a confusing and chaotic moment.

Our world is changing faster than ever. How do you navigate the chaotic world? The answer is discernment. Discernment is the number one leadership skill. Every one of you is a leader in this world because Jesus trained his followers to be leaders in this world.

Whether you are a parent or president, you are a leader; you either lead a family, a company, a community, or a country. Leaders have to make many decisions. The more decision you make, the more mistakes you make. Some mistakes could be extremely costly. The only way to make better decisions is through discernment.

I have discovered that every leader rises and falls on discernment. The dictionary definition of discernment is “the ability to judge well.” In Christianity, it’s the wisdom of knowing God’s will. Charles Spergeon said,

“Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.” ~C.H. Spurgeon

It’s easy to know what’s right or wrong, but it’s not easy to know what’s right and what’s almost right. Good leaders have this ability. You can lead a good life in this chaotic world if you have it. The good news is Jesus has taught us repeatedly.

There are three levels of discernment: personal, social, and spiritual.

Personal discernment is knowing why you do what you do—why did I make this choice; what do I crave sugar; why I am angry, etc. Knowing yourself is a giant leap in discernment because most people don’t know themselves.

Social discernment is the ability to read people—who is a good friend; who is a bad influence; who is being honest; what is their motive; etc. Our success and failure depend significantly on how well we can read people. We often read about Jesus’ outstanding ability to read people.

Spiritual discernment is the ability to know God’s will. In fact, if you have spiritual discernment, you know yourself better and people better. If you know the Creator, you understand how the creation functions. So, if you cultivate spiritual discernment, you hit three birds with one stone. Paul said,

“Those who are spiritual discern all things.” (1 Co 2:15).

That means you can make better decisions. Then how do we develop this spiritual discernment? Paul said by having the mind of Christ. In today’s scripture lesson, Jesus imparts his discernment process to us. Instead of making decisions for us, Jesus taught us how to make decisions through discernment. It’s like teaching us how to fish instead of giving us fish. So, now let’s go fishing!