Wise Counsel
There is so much heartache in the world today with people dealing with so many personal issues in their lives--everything from depression, addictions, stress, abuse of all kinds, eating disorders, and rebellion against authority, whether it be the law, parents, bosses, or God. My personal viewpoint is that the underlying cause of all these issues is ignorance of the foundational truths of God's Word, and/or rebellion against it. There's a verse in Proverbs 19 that says "A man's own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord."
I looked up the word "rebel" in the dictionary and it was defined as "a person who resists any authority, control, or tradition."
Most of our social problems in the world today, in my opinion, are people who are "rebelling" against something, and the deep underlying reason of their rebellion lies in their ignorance and/or disobedience of the truths for which God set up for His people since the beginning of time. God gave us direction in His word to protect us, but we insist in our own human frailty that we know better than God how to run our lives. That ultimately leads us into trouble.
Proverbs 11:14: "Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety." If we don't have any guidelines to follow other than our own selfish desires, we will ultimately fail in whatever we pursue. It shows a lack of wisdom when we think we know it all and don't need anyone else's help. God has set up the body of Christ, His church, for that very purpose. He gifted each of us with different gifts so that we can help others in different and diverse ways. There are pastors gifted to teach us God's truth to us; there are people gifted with compassion, a listening ear, a hospitable spirit to offer us comfort when we need it; there are people gifted as evangelists to go out and tell others the good news about Christ; there are people gifted with generosity that can help meet the needs of others within the body of Christ.
There will always be rebels in our sphere of influence, but they will come to a point in their lives where the folly of their life choices will begin to destroy them and they will call out for help. We need to be there for the rebellious spirits so that we can be a "fragrance of Christ" to them. II Cor. 2:15: "For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." God did not place us in the position to be a judge of their wrong decisions or choices. He placed us to be a sweet aroma to those that need to know Christ. Just as the aroma of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven draws our senses to the smell, the aroma of Christ within us as Christians needs to draw the rebels of our world to us so that we can "speak the truth in love" to them.
We need to be very wise in our counsel to these troubled souls. Most of us are not trained as professional counsellors, but we can open our hearts to love them and nurture them with Christ's love and wisdom until they learn themselves how to lean on Christ and gain reliance on Him to meet their needs. We are to help them "bear their burdens", but we are also to teach them how to "cast their cares upon the Lord." Our counsel is to direct them to the "Wonderful Counsellor", our Lord and Savior, who alone can provide them with strength and wisdom and courage to combat their problems in the right way.
If there is someone you know that is hurting, be a wise counsellor---love and nurture them and allow the aroma of Christ in you permeate their senses and open their hearts and minds to take in the fragrance and be soothed by your compassion and love for them. Gently lead them to the One who alone can meet their every need!
"The fear of the Lord leads to life; THEN one rests content, untouched by trouble." (Proverbs 19:23)
May your patient and wise counsel be always available for others!
Sandy
I looked up the word "rebel" in the dictionary and it was defined as "a person who resists any authority, control, or tradition."
Most of our social problems in the world today, in my opinion, are people who are "rebelling" against something, and the deep underlying reason of their rebellion lies in their ignorance and/or disobedience of the truths for which God set up for His people since the beginning of time. God gave us direction in His word to protect us, but we insist in our own human frailty that we know better than God how to run our lives. That ultimately leads us into trouble.
Proverbs 11:14: "Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety." If we don't have any guidelines to follow other than our own selfish desires, we will ultimately fail in whatever we pursue. It shows a lack of wisdom when we think we know it all and don't need anyone else's help. God has set up the body of Christ, His church, for that very purpose. He gifted each of us with different gifts so that we can help others in different and diverse ways. There are pastors gifted to teach us God's truth to us; there are people gifted with compassion, a listening ear, a hospitable spirit to offer us comfort when we need it; there are people gifted as evangelists to go out and tell others the good news about Christ; there are people gifted with generosity that can help meet the needs of others within the body of Christ.
There will always be rebels in our sphere of influence, but they will come to a point in their lives where the folly of their life choices will begin to destroy them and they will call out for help. We need to be there for the rebellious spirits so that we can be a "fragrance of Christ" to them. II Cor. 2:15: "For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." God did not place us in the position to be a judge of their wrong decisions or choices. He placed us to be a sweet aroma to those that need to know Christ. Just as the aroma of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven draws our senses to the smell, the aroma of Christ within us as Christians needs to draw the rebels of our world to us so that we can "speak the truth in love" to them.
We need to be very wise in our counsel to these troubled souls. Most of us are not trained as professional counsellors, but we can open our hearts to love them and nurture them with Christ's love and wisdom until they learn themselves how to lean on Christ and gain reliance on Him to meet their needs. We are to help them "bear their burdens", but we are also to teach them how to "cast their cares upon the Lord." Our counsel is to direct them to the "Wonderful Counsellor", our Lord and Savior, who alone can provide them with strength and wisdom and courage to combat their problems in the right way.
If there is someone you know that is hurting, be a wise counsellor---love and nurture them and allow the aroma of Christ in you permeate their senses and open their hearts and minds to take in the fragrance and be soothed by your compassion and love for them. Gently lead them to the One who alone can meet their every need!
"The fear of the Lord leads to life; THEN one rests content, untouched by trouble." (Proverbs 19:23)
May your patient and wise counsel be always available for others!
Sandy
posted by Sandy Fewell at 6:54 AM
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