Governing Priciple # 1 - Christian Counselor Education

"He who gives an answer before he hears, It is folly and shame to him."  Proverbs 18:13    

As the old saying goes, we have two ears and one mouth therefore we should listen twice as much as we speak.  There is not doubt that good communication involves good listening skills.  The above passage backs that up quite well.  If we were to take this in as a governing principle… To finish reading please visit http://www.faithcounseling.org  it would apply to more than our marriages.  We would find it applicable with friends, family, work and yes even strangers.   

All too often we talk over the top of others with little consideration of what they are saying.  During this election season this seems to be the acceptable practice with the winner being the one who talks over the top of the most people. 

However, I would like to give you another perspective.  This same governing principle should be applied in at least two other ways.  First, it should impact our personal prayer life.  When we stop to pray, do we wait for the Lord to answer or do we answer our own questions before hearing from Him?  The second is similar, as we minister to others and address their issues are we hearing from God before we give guidance?  This is a healthy challenge for counselors because it is way too easy to rely on our training rather than listening to what the Holy Spirit may say to us in the moment.  Pastors can be guilty of the same thing.  We study the Word of God and can quickly rely on our knowledge, quote a verse and miss what the Holy Spirit may direct us to say.   

I am not advocating that we as pastors shouldn’t study or use the Word of God.  Nor am I saying that as counselors we should not use our training.  What I hope to inspire is a new sense that we need to constantly be listening to what the Holy Spirit would say through us. 

Dr. David M. Smuin

Faith Counseling and Training