Day 64

 

Counseling

 

All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.

 

Isaiah 28:29

 

Several years ago a young man called me on the phone and told me he had a problem he needed help with. I asked him what his problem was. He explained to me that he had been making phone calls to his boss's daughter that were somewhat rude in nature. His boss found out about it and he was warned to quit making the calls. He didn't quit and was fired.

He was a determined, though somewhat deranged, young man so he kept calling. The police had finally shown up at his door and warned him that if he made one more call that he would be arrested and charges filed against him. The problem he wanted help with was, "What do I do now?"

Being a highly trained professional I was able to come up with an insightful and profound reply. "Don't call her," I told him.

He said, "But I want to call her!"

"Fine," I replied, "then go to jail."

"Is that your advice?" he asked.

"That's it," I assured him.

I guess he wanted me to explore his feelings and probe his past like Oprah or Dr. Phil would. I'm a little more direct than that. It is not that I don't care about people's problems it is just that at times I am unsure what to say.

One man confided to me that since his bypass surgery he had lost his sex drive. What do you say when someone tells you that? The best I could come up with was, "Maybe they bypassed the wrong thing."

Okay, perhaps that wasn't the too helpful. It was better than my alternative: "I'm pretty sure you didn't lose it in my office so maybe you should enquire about it somewhere else." It's not like the Southern Baptist Convention sends a case of Viagra to every pastor with instructions to "dispense as needed." I was a little out of my realm of expertise. (If I actually have a realm of expertise).

When people come to me for counseling I do take their problems seriously and try to help as best I can. My advise in most every situation is to turn to the Lord for help. The Bible tells us he is "wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom." That is better credentials than Oprah and Dr. Phil combined.

 

Upon Further Review

 

Read Isaiah 28:23-29

• Did the Israelites really need advice on planting herbs?
• What point is God trying to make when he gives the Israelites those everyday guidelines to planting?
• Is sometimes the best counsel and wisest thing to do the most obvious and simple thing to do?