The Bible is known worldwide as a holy book that holds the most important details about human life and the factors that govern it. It could not be denied that through history people, both Christians and not have seen the essentiality of the Bible and the practical advices that it leaves to any believer of the ideas found in the said holy book. As for example a German Poet wrote about the Bible this way: “I owe my enlightenment quite simply to the reading of a book…The Bible. It is quite rightly called Holy Scriptures.
He who has lost his God can rediscover Him in this book” Aside from this, another slavery activist named William H. Seward commented this way: “The whole hope of human progress is suspended on the ever-growing influence of the Bible” Certainly, it could be noted that through the commentaries of the said people, the Bible is indeed a must-read book. Furthermore, even Abraham Lincoln agreed that the bible is “God’s greatest gift to man, as through it people are able to distinguish what is right and what is wrong”.
British jurist Sir William Blackstone further adds: “Upon these two foundations, the law of nature and the law of the Bible, depend all human laws, that is to say, no human laws should be suffered to contradict these”. Reading the Bible is very different from reading a book of fiction. Most popular fiction is designed for a single reading; once a person knows the story and how it ends, that is all there is to it. In contrast, regardless of how many times we have read the Bible, we benefit greatly by doing it again. (Proverbs 9:9) To a discerning person, the Scriptures constantly take on fresh meaning.
Prophecies regarding the last days become even more impressive to him in the light of what he has seen, heard, and personally experienced in recent months. (Daniel 12:4) As he broadens his own experience in life and copes with problems, the discerning Bible reader appreciates more fully the counsel that he may formerly have read only casually. (Proverbs 4:18) If he is overtaken with a serious illness, the Bible’s promises regarding the removal of pain and the restoration of health take on greater depth of meaning to him than ever before.
When close friends and family members die, the promise of a resurrection becomes even more precious. A person may personally have read the Bible and applied its counsel over a period of years. But perhaps a person is now taking on new responsibilities in life. Hence, in this part the Bible could be used as a manual of practical guidance regarding the decisions that must be made concerning the responsibilities that a person must take. Among the most important sense of the activity brought about by Bible reading is the way it helps the reader with regards to the way that he is able to see things in his life.
It is when the Bibl becomes an important part of a person’s perception and principles in living does reading the bible becomes more practical for the reader. This is the reason why it is very important for the readers to see the importance of Bible reading in giving counseling and getting counseling themselves from the holy book. However, to get the first hand on the issue being tackled, it should first be best to know what is meant by counseling and other terms that has to be dealt with n discussing the said topic of concern. What is counseling and how should it be done?
One who gives advice is a counselor. Counsel is the advice that he gives. Of the numerous Hebrew and Aramaic words used in the Scriptures to express the idea of “counsel,” the Hebrew noun ? e·tsah? and the related verb ya·? ats? appear most often. Though usually rendered “counsel,” ? e·tsah? has also been translated “scheme. ” (Isa 8:10) In the Christian Greek Scriptures, the concept of “counsel” or “advice” as a noun is expressed by bou·le? and sym·bou? li·on. Bou·le? is also rendered “design” (Lu 23:51), “scheme” (Ac 5:38), “express will” (Ac 13:36), and “determination” (Ac 27:42).
( So the term “counsel” may also signify “will,” “purpose,” “determination,” “design,” as when God declares: “My own counsel will stand. ” (Isa 46:10) It is the “counsels of the hearts,” namely, the plans, designs, purposes, or determinations, of the deep inner self that will be exposed when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to render judgment. (1Co 4:5) At Ephesians 1:11, the phrase “according to the way his will counsels” (literally, “according to the counsel of the will of him”) may be understood to mean “according to the purpose, or determination, that is an expression of God’s will.
” The apostle Paul said that he was free of bloodguilt because he did not hold back from teaching “all the counsel of God” (“the whole of God’s purpose,” JB; “the whole will of God,” NIV), that is, everything that is essential for salvation. —Ac 20:27. Men known for their wisdom were valued highly as royal counselors or advisers. Because of their position, they were on occasion offered bribes so that they would use their influence in a corrupt way. When the enemies of the Jews hired counselors, they may have done so by bribing Persians who served in that capacity. —Ezr 4:5.
No one human is the depository of all knowledge. Therefore, the person who heeds sound counsel is wise. (Pr 12:15) For one to reject the good counsel of experienced advisers, as did King Rehoboam, is the height of folly. —1Ki 12:8. God is the possessor of wisdom in the absolute sense. He alone needs no one to counsel him. (Isa 40:13; Ro 11:34) His Son is able to act as “Wonderful Counselor,” providing guidance and direction, because he received and followed counsel from his Father and has God’s spirit. (Isa 9:6; 11:2; Joh 5:19, 30) This emphasizes that if counsel is to be beneficial
Jesus has set a pattern in giving a practical counsel to his followers as written in the Bible. What pattern was he able to set? Jesus, in dealing with people, was always humble, never haughty, self-seeking or egotistical. (Matthew 11:28, 29; Philippians 2:5-8) The apostle Paul encouraged Christians to imitate that attitude, cultivating tender affection and compassion and “doing nothing out of contentiousness or out of egotism, but with lowliness of mind. ” (Philippians 2:1-3) Successful counselors recognize their own need for humility and genuine concern.
Similarly, well-known psychologist Carl Rogers portrays the counselor as “someone who is genuine without facade, empathetic. ” It is what another psychologist terms a “positive regard”: “It means that he prizes his client as a person, with somewhat the same quality of feeling that a parent feels for his child, prizing him as a person. ” There is a danger to watch out for here, though. If the counselor is dealing with a married couple, that is fine. If, however, he is dealing with just the wife, he must be careful that the wife does not become too dependent on him for sympathy and concern, to the exclusion of her husband.