Testing 1,2,3 Testing

DEVOTION
1 THESSALONIANS
TESTING 1,2,3 TESTING
1 Thess 5:21
21 Test everything. Hold on to the good.
NIV
Another one of those little gems, small but mighty is this verse. How am I to test everything? I know I am supposed to as instructed here, but how? I am to examine, to scrutinize, to recognize what is genuine after my examination, to deem what is worthy. Let me see, that would be only one thing, the word of God. Everything I hear from the mouth of any person must be tested against the word of God. Especially when someone is speaking about religious or spiritual matters I have to test their words against God’s words. I have to doubt there must have been men of that time who were using spiritual ideas for their own gain. I know that surely exists today, I only have to turn on the television to one of those religious channels to watch them in action. Right, I know some or good people and doing the right thing. But some are not and that is why I am to test everything. Even when it comes to my own pastor, I am responsibility to test what he says. I am not supposed to blindly follow any mans teaching. I am responsibility for knowing the word of God for myself and to follow it and it alone. This is why God has given out the gift of discerning of spirits as one of his gifts to his church. To be able to discern in the spirit the falseness in teaching, preaching, and the writings of men is required. I think all too often it is easy to be deceived by some charismatic personality if the discerning of spirits is ignored. I also must be careful to rightly divide the word of God, not only for myself, but when I am given the opportunity to preach, teach and write. I must hold on to the good within the scriptures and let go of the bad that is within the world. How does this test up? Is this what God really means? That sure sounds like I have spiritual pride. But that is exactly what God tells me to do, to test everything.