Can I have a re-do?

Our church is moving into a new area of ministry of creating and maintaining small groups. The idea is for us to get to know one another, encourage one another, pray for one another and in the end, build strong relationships where we will be able to hold one another accountable and therefore, run the race set before us as we await the coming of our Lord and King.

This Sunday night I was asked to participate in a panel to demonstrate what small groups will look like. After watching the DVD segment as a congregation, eight of us moved onto the platform to answer a series of questions. Coming up with answers on the spot can be challenging-especially in front of an audience. My notes and pre-conceived ideas of how I would answer did not help me.

Of the many questions asked, the first one still haunts me. The question: "How have we received or given bad counsel that makes us question the promises of God"? My answer: "I don't remember ever giving or receiving bad counsel but I do battle questioning God's promise that He will not withhold any good thing from me..."

Now that time has passed, I can think of a hundred different times I have received and given bad counsel. You see, life is all about counseling. It's in the way we live that we are counseling those around us. People don't live based on the facts of their experiences, but rather by the way they interpret those experiences. Our lives are shaped by those interpretations and we desperately need God's counsel to clarify and speak truth.

In the garden, Adam and Eve heard two counselors. Satan took the same facts God spoke to them, but gave a different interpretation. This battle continues today. So, every time I watch a movie that glorifies sin, and I don't grieve over that entertainment, I am listening to bad counsel. Wonder why there is so much confusion out there? It's because there are thousands of voices that are interpreting messages that shape our hearts.

Every sitcom we laugh at, every book we read and every lyric we jam to will shape our hearts. So, the question remains. When have I received or given bad counsel? When I fail to see (then ultimately show) that I was created to worship God and am dependant on Him. I want to hate the things God hates and love the things God loves.

Each time I live for myself and show that I don't need God to direct me, I'm not believing Christ when He said, "Without me you can do nothing".

Counsel is important. It's never neutral because advice gives moral shape. How are you shaping your heart and the hearts around you?