Acceptance... Approval... Judgment... Condemnation and Praise

Acceptance doesn’t mean approval but approval can involve judgment and judgment comes with praise as well as condemnation. One of the gifts of the spirit referred to in the Pauline first letter to the Corinthians (12:10) is the discerning, or distinguishing, of spirits. Many a fire-and-brimstone preacher erroneously takes this phrase mean something akin to the naming of demons. I believe it more accurately describes the ability to see what attitude, motive, or spirit that we come to each other. Do I come into a disagreement with another in a generous manner, hoping for a solution, or am I merely determined press my own agenda regardless of whether or not it is the for the best? Am I motivated to drink the poison of idle gossip in the name of deep concern for the failings of my fellows? Compassion with a huge dose of wisdom is one of the gifts of starting my day making a contact with a Power greater than the wiles of ego so that I can judge the lower spirits and not the human being that is the vessel of my God.