Governing Principle # 2 - Christian Counselor Education

Governing Principle # 2

“He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.”  Proverbs 28:13

One of the most foundational differences between the person controlled by the Spirit of God and the person controlled by the sinful nature is this governing principle.  The sinful nature would compel a person to deny, conceal, shift the blame and even out right lie about a transgression.  Where as the person controlled by the Holy Spirit confesses and forsakes wrongdoing.  I might add that the Spirit controlled person does not need to be caught red handed.  They are convicted by something greater that the law, media or their peers. 

As I have watched the last six months of American history unfold it has been amazing to see so many corporate leaders, politicians and others in the markets conceal their transgression.  The result has been disaster that has reached far beyond their own lives.  Innocent people have lost jobs, retirements and even their homes as a result of concealed transgression.  What is even more amazing to me is how many of these leaders and the media have attempted to spin the truth, blame others and escape taking responsibility.

How many of the CEO’s and other executives in the news have stepped forward to acknowledge their faults and offer their own salaries as retribution for allowing faulty practices to destroy their companies?  I can’t think of any.  How many political candidates have been called on the carpet for their statements, associations, voting records (or lack thereof) or ungodly beliefs and values have stepped forward to admit their faults?  I can’t think of any.  It seems that the media is right there to spin the story in their favor or help them pass the blame. 

As long as the leaders of this great country continue to conceal their transgressions, we will not prosper.  God will not bless a nation that is bent on doing evil.  This election season I would urge you to vote the Bible rather than economics or popularity. 

The other side of this coin is that the people that comprise this great nation are the ones who vote the leaders in and then fail to hold them accountable.  We are the ones who put up with the media bias and ungodliness in every area of our society.  I dare say that if God’s people stopped entertaining sin and stopped standing by in passivity things would change in quick fashion.  “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  Now My eyes shall be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.” 2 Chronicles 7:13-15

The governing principle of true repentance mentioned in Proverbs 28:13 applies to the country as a whole, but it also applies to the individual.  Let’s all take an introspective look at our lives and evaluate where we have concealed transgression.  Maybe that transgression is hurting our spouse, children or others around us just like the transgressions of national leaders have hurt the financial stability of our country.  Let us ask the Holy Spirit to search these things out and then let each of us truly confess and turn from them. 

For those of us in the pastoral or counseling ministries this is often where the rubber meets the road.  If a person is unwilling to confess their sin or is unwilling to turn from it, there is little that we can do to usher in true healing.  No amount of training, skill or method can replace true repentance, which leads to a right relationship with the healer.  In fact, there are times when our attempts to help only prolong the real transition that Jesus desires in a person’s life.

Which governing principle governs your life?  Is it the fleshly desire to conceal or the godly conviction of confession and forsaking transgression?

In Christ,

Dr. David M. Smuin

President

Faith Counseling and Training