We live in a world obsessed with spectacle. Screens glow, voices shout, headlines scream for our attention. What matters is not whether something is true, but whether it can be seen, shared, and consumed. The result is an endless flood of noise where visibility masquerades as value, and entertainment poses as wisdom.
But Christ never called us to spectacle. He called us to discernment.
Discernment is not the same thing as skepticism. Skepticism doubts everything, while discernment weighs everything against truth. Skepticism tears down for its own sake. Discernment pierces through illusion to find what is real. Jesus warned, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). The danger was not in how they appeared. It was in what they concealed.
Spectacle thrives on appearance. Discernment asks what is beneath the surface.
The need for discernment today is urgent. We are saturated with information but starved for wisdom. We are surrounded by performance but isolated from substance. Without discernment, we are carried along by every current of outrage, distraction, and spectacle — believing we are spectators when in fact we are being shaped by what we consume.
Jesus gave us a different image: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). The spectacle shouts, but the Shepherd calls in stillness. The crowd stirs with noise, but truth is found in the quiet recognition of His voice.
To discern in this age is an act of resistance. It means refusing to measure words by their volume or popularity. It means refusing to confuse what dazzles with what is real. It means testing every voice, every performance, every claim against the eternal standard of God’s truth.
Spectacle flatters our senses. Discernment awakens our spirit. Spectacle entertains. Discernment transforms. Spectacle can consume a lifetime. Discernment leads to life.
The age of spectacle will not end anytime soon. But the call to discern remains the same as it has always been. Will we settle for the noise, or will we tune our ears to the voice of truth?
*If you’d like to read more in-depth takes on discernment, you can find them in the following articles:
The Cost of Awareness: The Performance of Humanity and the Weight of Feeling Too Much
Biblical Mysticism vs. Spiritual Deception: Walking the Path with Discernment
A Continuing Discussion on Discernment: On Dependency, Communion, and Channeling
The Twin Tree Project 