Psalm 1 and Secular Counseling

Psalm 1:1 "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked..."

As I meditated on this one phrase of the first psalm, I tried to put into other words what I was reading. I thought to myself, "who are the wicked?" and "what does it mean to walk in their counsel?" I believe that the Lord led me to an interesting thought; when a Christian relies on secular counsel or advice rather than on wisdom from God, the Bible and the fellow Christians God has given him, he will fall out of the blessing of Father God. Why is it that good parents are so concerned about children's friends and how they are influencing them? For the same reason God told the Israelites not to associate with the nations around them. Romans 8:6-8 says "For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God." And again: 1 Cor. 15:33 "Do not be deceived, 'bad company corrupts good morals. '" How can we apply this to our Christian life?

In my opinion, over the past decade this country has witnessed an incredible increase in the belief of the common man that psychiatry and psychology is common-place and even necessary for a stable life. (With the break-neck speed that our country moves at, I'm not surprised that a niche forms that forces people to take time to think about their problems that they would otherwise have had time to think of on their own if they had any time to themselves) I in no way purpose to undermine the entire profession as being unnecessary or immoral, however, as christians, we must look at our involvement with such a profession in light of scripture.

Where is the line we must ask ourselves? When do we begin "walking in the counsel of the wicked?" When we take problems that overwhelm us to the secular world instead of to our Father and to His church that He has created to support us, we have absolutely aligned our lives with the counsel of the wicked. Only our Father God can see past the here and now, the physical complexities and the seemingly insurmountable problems that we face. How can we even begin to believe that someone completely unendowed with any spiritual wisdom or holy truth or prophetic gift could untangle the web that is within our sin-strangled hearts? If you need a counselor, seek a Christian! Seek those in the counseling profession that align themselves with the word of God and feel His call to help those who struggle with mental anxieties! Or, seek out your pastor, a brother you respect, or anyone who walks in a manner worthy of his call!

Consider as one final exhortation 1 Cor. 6:1-4 "Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church?" Even though this scripture deals with law disputes between christians, the heart of it stands as an exhortation to realize that there is no power for reconciliation of problems in this world apart from Christ and therefore, no secular force can do any good at all for a christian because they are incapable of pleasing Father God.

I realize this is radical, but christianity is a radical religion, not in violence, not in exclusivity of membership, but exclusivity of an absolute truth. It beckons all to come, yet its beckoning is inescapably to a life separate from the "life" lived before; the patterns of behavior, the beliefs, that in which we trust. And should we place our trust in the counsel of those who have rejected our Lord, we have chosen our master for enslavement and have thrown our lot in with those that spurned Christ on the cross. We are in effect, by our lack of trust in His saving power and His church, echoing those ancient Pharisees who said "He saved others, He cannot save himself!"