Counsel of Men
Scripture Reading - Psalms 1:1 KJV
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Today’s lesson continues on the subject of “Counsel”. We started teaching on the subject of the “Counselors of God’s Word” which includes the instructions of the Holy Bible, specifically reading, thinking and doing God’s Word. In another lesson we spoke about the “Counsel of Purpose” where we mentioned that all our purposes should also be derived from the Holy Word of God because deviating from God’s Word (His Will) always causes problems down the road. We have previously spoken about avoiding the “Counsel of Evil” where the inspiration is rooted in evil spirits. We reminded the reader that we are all in a war against darkness so avoid all contact with wicked spirits by recognizing their source. In today’s lesson we will speak about a lesser degree of spiritual evilness by looking into the “Counsel of Men”. Now when we (ihlcc) are teaching on the “Counsel of Men” we must preface the fact that all “Counsel of Men” is not evil. When man chooses to speak forth God’s Word or God’s principles at the right time and in the right manner we would still consider that to be godly counsel. However, when men just speak whatever comes to their mind at that time and it is not right then that specific “Counsel of Men” is a bad thing. We thought it good to teach on this because we all have people in our fellowship that are close to us. Yes, whether it is a family member, or boyfriend or girlfriend we typically value their “counsel”. Yes, sometimes we go to a trusted source of man to get “counsel” whenever we think we need it but we should first go to God’s Word. Yes, people will even go so far as to pay for counsel if it is coming from a very well respected individual/professional. It is very common for a person to go to a more knowledgeable or more experienced person to gain their opinion and “counsel” about a specific situation or business. We are referring to all matters where someone is looking for better information about how to handle a particular situation and/or dilemma as a form of “Counsel of Men”. Sometimes this “counsel” is just to use the other person as a sounding board and other times it is a measurement of how well does the person in need receive the counsel. In other words, if I like your ideas better than my own ideas I will use it (do it, obey your words). People generally like when others “counsel” them to do what they were already planning on doing. The more problematic “Counsel of Men” is when the person asking for “counsel” is planning on doing exactly what the other person says, even if it violates their own heart. You can easily see that if a person is telling you to go against your own heart you are running the risk of missing God’s Will for your life. There are times, of course, when you should submit to the “counsel of another” if that “counsel” is in-line with God’s Will for your life but only submit unto that kind of “counsel” when you know in your heart that God is bearing witness to it. We (ihlcc) have seen many cases where people have “counseled” other people to follow their own will (the will of the counselor) not the will of the listener. Yes, parents will often times “counsel” their own children to follow what they think the child should be, instead of encouraging the child to follow their own heart. Yes, we have commonly seen leaders or bosses “counseling” people to follow their path to success instead of helping the listener exceed in their own path or purpose. We all know there is a multitude of “Counsel of Men” on the media (television, radio, internet, etc. . .) that pushes their own agenda and speaks evil of all those who think contrary to them. Why is this a problem? One might ask, it is a huge problem if God is trying to direct your life as one source while maybe three, four or even five other voices are trying to persuade you to follow another path. All steps outside of God’s Will for your life is following the path of the ungodly as our reference scripture states, those who do this will not be blessed. We know as Born-Again Christians there are competing sources in our life for our time and attention. We also know the source that gathers the most of our time and attention wins the battle ground of our mind. Therefore, we must keep out all “counsel” that is contrary to God. Yes, we must even keep out all “idle counsel” because that is counterproductive also. We (ihlcc) would venture to say, that in most cases the “Counsel of Men” is very deceptive and subtly misleading because if you went to your parents with a problem they would probably sincerely try to help you but a problem could be that they haven’t prayed about it so their answer could be from their own heart, instead of the Heart of God. Yes, we even know some parents who won’t be patience and faithful enough for you to bring a problem to them but will prematurely bring you their solution to you whether you asked for it or not. Yes, there are countless times when someone close to you (family member or friend) brought something up to you that wasn’t a problem at all to you but since it was a problem for them they “counseled” you with “The Counsel of Men”. Although you could understand where they were coming from you probably didn’t appreciate their “counsel” , yes, many busybodies are engaged (rooted in) the “Counsel of Men”. Since we live in a busybody society it is nothing for another person to barge right in to your inner counsel and pull up a chair to your thought life for discussing who you are and what you should be doing. Of course, all good Christians know that spot is reserved for the Lord Jesus Christ, our Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit but many people don’t trust God to work things out because they feel sure they can work it all out if you would only listen to them. We will repeat the “Counsel of Men” can be inspired by God but most commonly it is not. Therefore, the only way you can accurately know for yourself is for you to be very well acquainted with God’s Holy Word and God’s Holy Ways. Yes, your Lord Jesus Christ speaks a certain way and that way will always be aligned with His Word. Likewise, your Heavenly Father and His Holy Spirit act a certain way and they will always be in-line with love, peace and truth. To properly interpret what is God and what is not God you, dear faith friend, must be familiar with the Holy Bible and living in God’s Love because everything else is nothing more than idle conversation, or we could say the non-productive “Counsel of Men”. So in summary seek God first and foremost in all your ways and He shall direct your paths. If you really feel that you need some additional “counsel” be sure it doesn’t replace the “Counsel of God” upon the throne of your heart because that place is bought and paid for by “The Precious Blood of Jesus Christ and your Heavenly Father”. Behold, that secret place in Christ is always a private meeting behind closed curtains, so keep it holy as unto the Lord, not open for the “Counsel of Mere Men” but rather always open for “Thee Counselor of the Holy Spirit” in the Name of Jesus. Amen!