HOW CAN ONE DETECT UNGODLY COUNSEL?

Life is really just a long and continuous series of decisions, but thankfully, we are not left to figure all this out by ourselves. God has given us directions for wise decision making and promises of His divine guidance if we’ll listen to Him. The Lord also provides other people who can help us when we don’t know what to do. But we must be cautious because not all advice is beneficial. Our goal should always be to seek godly counsel that will aid us in discovering GOD’S will.
1. Unwise counselors make little or no mention of God or Scripture. Their advice will be based on what they, Freud, or others think, not what God thinks.
2. They may display a subtle defensiveness about using Scripture for guidance. Preferring to rely on their own senses, they see the Bible as unnecessary.
3. There will be an absence of prayer. It’s not considered very important.
4. They may suggest actions that are not scriptural. Their advice may sound and feel right, but it actually violates what God says in His Word.
5. They suggest reading material that ignores God’s Word. There are thousands of counselors in our culture, and many of them rely on resources that have nothing to do with the truths of Scripture. Therefore, we must be very careful to recognize and reject materials that do not present God’s views.
6. Unwise counselors may be very critical of Christian leaders or godly people. They warn against listening to them, asserting that only their way is right.
7. Sometimes counselors give advice according to what they think we want to hear. But a wise counselor considers what God says first and foremost.
8. Some counselors may seek to create a sense of dependency upon themselves. But we are called to trust in God, heed His Word, and follow His leadership. If we trust Him for our salvation, surely we can trust Him for guidance. The wisest counsel we could possibly find is in the Word of God. We should invest our time in learning and declaring Scripture, and seeking help from those who know it well and can guide us to the right passages.
9. Avoid counselors with an ungodly lifestyle. This applies to both professionals and friends. If someone is not living rightly, it’s doubtful that they will be able to give godly advice. If we want to know what God desires, we must go to His Word or to someone who knows it well and lives in obedience to it.
10. Some advisors may want to give us an out. But escaping our problems and pain might not be what God desires. He may want us to walk through them to teach us valuable lessons we’d learn no other way. Instead of looking for a way out, we should become so centered on God’s Word and devoted to His will, that we want whatever He desires for us, even if it’s painful. Sometimes the answer we seek is not found in running to someone else for guidance, but in humbling ourselves, letting our knees drop eighteen inches to the floor and putting our face in the carpet to ask God what He would have us do.
11. A check in our spirit reveals unsound counsel. When we walk in the Spirit, He gives us inner warnings (checks) if we’re heading in the wrong direction, thinking the wrong way, or making a wrong decision. If this happens while we’re confiding in someone, we should immediately stop, knowing it’s a warning from the Holy Spirit.
12. Some counselors are seeking our approval. This is a problem that happens when friends try to please us by telling us what they think we want to hear.
13. A check in our spirit reveals unsound counsel. When we walk in the Holy Spirit, He gives us inner warnings (checks) if we’re heading in the wrong direction, thinking the wrong way, or making a wrong decision. If this happens while we’re confiding in someone, we should stop, knowing it’s a warning from the Spirit.
14. Some people counsel in a way that is profitable only for themselves. But the best counselors are those who truly care for us and seek to do what’s best for us without regard for what they get from it.
15. Sometimes a counselor may become inappropriately involved with the client. This can even happen in a church or with a pastor. There must be appropriate barriers in counseling.
16. A counselor may unload on the person seeking help. Soon the session becomes about his problems instead of our problems.
17. An advisor may project his own hurts and disappointments on the person he counsels. Our problems may bring the counselor’s hidden issues to the forefront.
18. We should not go to an unbeliever for godly counsel. Someone who doesn’t know God or believe in His Word will never be able to give godly advice.
What are the consequences of going to an ungodly counselor?
*We might make the wrong decision.
*We might be deceived.
*We could be controlled by the counselor.
*It may cost us financially.
*It could separate friends.
*It may injure our marriage.
*We could turn away from trusting God and turn to trusting a person.
*We might be encouraged to make decisions that violate God’s Word.
*We may be led astray and lead someone else astray also.