The Counseling Trap

As I have grown as a believer I've become somewhat disenchanted with Christian teaching that is actually secular "counseling" dressed up with a thin veneer of Scripture overlaid to maintain appearances. More and more as I read some of our most popular “Christian Leaders” today I find that their teachings have a foundation built upon "counseling" and they are presenting Christ as an effective answer to our personal problems.

So, what’s wrong with that?

`Truth is, I think that message can be important. The world is gonna "...rip your heart out and stomp that sucker flat". Opening ourselves to the teachings of our Wonderful Counselor is a critical focus for a Christian's peace. Could we really make it without Him sustaining our hearts and minds? No, that’s silly.

But there are a couple of dangers here.

First: Secular counseling is centered on the person being counseled. A person's feelings are the central priority and the objective is to “feel better”. When one ventures down this path there is a great danger that they will subvert their relationship with Christ into a tool to “feel better”. It’s a terrible, (and very common,) temptation to want God to serve us rather than our proper role of serving Him. Christ did not die on the cross to be a Prozac substitute.

For me, getting past this issue has been a central obstacle to maturing as a Christian. And as God has led me down this path, I have looked back to find that much teaching that I’ve received in the past was designed to adapt Jesus to my self-centered world view rather than to teach me to adapt to His Will and Purpose. (And this is still a work in progress.)

Second: The combination of Christianity and secular counseling has introduced many secular ideas that are built on a self-centered worldview that is inconsistent with the Bible. Accommodation to sin becomes "Compassion". Our feelings become the central priority of life. “Truth” becomes subject to its impact upon us and our feelings. And let's face it, doing the right thing doesn't always "feel" good and sin sometimes feels really good, (for a season.)

Probably the worst result I’ve seen emerge from this outlook is the naturally following conclusion that God is modeled upon what we feel God should be and what we are comfortable understanding God to be. “Truth” in the Bible is then interpreted by how well it matches up with our prior decision on who God is. How often do we hear:

“I can’t believe that a loving God would [fill in the blank]”
or
“If God… [characteristic they feel God has]
…then how could He… [behavior of God that contradicts that characteristic]?”

This question is a great one when it leads us to a new understanding of God that breaks our personal perceptions. It is disasterous when it leads to a person abandoning Truth because their worldview has become their god. And there's the problem in a nutshell. If a person is centered upon God, counseling has valuable potentials. Without God counseling promotes sin through self-centeredness.

Whatever value modern counseling techniques may or may not have, it is common for these models to promote a self-centered worldview that is problematic for a servant of the Living God. When these tools are deployed into the body without adequate effort to address this danger, a problem is likely to follow. Our calling to discernment demands that we be aware of and on guard against these dangers and that process has to start with ourselves and our own beliefs.