Overcoming False Guidance, Bitterness, and Pride

Overcoming False Guidance, Bitterness, and Pride

Aaron M. Hunt

Liberty University

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Abstract

The author (Anderson, 2003) presented some very crucial points when working in Christian Counseling. The three points that will be discussed in this paper are that of the counselee overcoming false guidance that were brought about from cult or occult sources, the need to turn against those evil forces, exposing the darkness, and in turn trusting God; that of the counselee overcoming bitterness and hatred against those who have wronged him or her and forgiving so as to promote the healing process; and for the counselee to overcome one's own foolish pride so to be able to recognize and give credit to whom credit is due and that is through God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and in learning true, as opposed to false, humility. These subjects are relevant to all no matter what social background, ethnicity or sex and are crucial in leading a healthy, happy, Christian life and in the recovery process.

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Day to day life in today's world can often become too hard to bare. In today's society it has become acceptable to just give up and walk away or just give up on life, whether it is a marriage, a job, a life, or anything that may fall in between. It is all the more important to not only have counseling, but Christian counseling available to those who are mentally and emotionally distraught from the hurtles that the evils of the world puts up in individual paths to bring one down or put one out. There are many ways that Satan uses to destroy a person and others in the process. It is important to have a spiritual footing to stand against these self defeating acts and be able to stand boldly on the side of the truth. This world is filled with hatred, deceit, maliciousness, arrogance. In turn these all run together in something called "stinking thinking". One will find all that they need to fight against these self defeating actions by opening up God's word. There you find examples of self defeating acts, answers to these acts and words of encouragement and guidance. Let's walk step by step through these three problems or stumbling blocks that one needs to overcome in their search for peace and harmony and are crucial steps to be made to experience freedom in Christ.

Overcoming False Guidance

First of all, there is the problem that inter-relates to the other two problems to be discussed and that is False Guidance. As was stated in Discipleship Counseling, the first step to freedom in Christ is to renounce previous or current involvement with any activity or group that denies Christ, offers guidance through sources contrary to the Word of God or requires secret ceremonies or covenants (Anderson, 2003). To renounce something is more than just to admit to

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something but it means to turn away from something or someone voluntarily or to even disown that practice, person or thing. One cannot repent of something if they don't renounce it. It is kind of like admitting it was wrong to steal that candy bar and saying you are sorry and you won't do it again, only to go and steal two more. In this process you need to turn away from the ultimate evil being, to whom all ungodly spiritual warfare is ruled, Satan himself. To do this is to turn to God and the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom all sins were lain so with His power we may turn away from all evil. In this battle one must be able to see and understand the demonic forces at hand and learn ways of rebuking those forces. The afflicted one must accept Christ as their Lord and Savior if they have not already and make a stand and renounce the evil forces in the name of Christ. The counselor will need to walk those afflicted through these steps and good through a sort of check list, addressing all the problems that the counselee may be faced or challenged with. Those who seek counseling and who deal with false guidance are in need of spiritual discipline. As noted in the Encyclopedia of Religion, those people who long for a transformative or complete understanding of themselves and of their place in the world must somehow find a teacher or a set of teachings to help them along (Ed. Lindsay Jones, Vol. 13, 2nd edition). I think that is exactly what Christian counseling has to offer.

Overcoming Bitterness

Bitterness can be a very powerful emotion that can debilitate a person's