The counsel of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the subject of counselling quoted in Geoff Thomas' foreword to the new hardback edition of
Spiritual Depression: It's Causes and Cure:
Dr. Lloyd-Jones once spoke to a group of doctors about the essentials needed to counsel men and women. He said this: [The counsellor] is not doing something outside himself. He is giving something of himself and his experience, and there is an exchange taking place between the patient and himself. Hence the most important thing of all in counselling is the character and personality of the counsellor.
What is the greatest essential in a counsellor? I would say that it is a quiet mind, and that he is at rest in himself. You will remember how our Lord put this on one occasion — ‘Can the blind lead the blind? If the blind lead the blind they will both fall in the ditch.’
In other words, if a man is in trouble within himself, and is restless, he is really in need of counselling himself. How can he give useful counsel to another? The first requisite, therefore, in a counsellor is that he himself is possessed of a quiet mind, a mind that is restful. It is at that point, of course, that the importance of the Christian faith comes in.
I am prepared to defend the proposition that no man ultimately can have a quiet mind, a heart at rest, and at leisure from itself unless he is a Christian. He needs to know a true peace within — the peace of God which is able to keep both mind and heart. The patient comes in to see him in an agitated troubled condition, and can detect if there are similar manifestations in the counsellor.
9 comments:
Thank you for sharing. It's very inspiring and help my troubled mind.
A true counselor counsels from Scripture alone, not from psychological or subjective categories. Lloyd-Jones' view here is about as clear as mud. If peace of mind is the standard, then why not the peace of mind of the Hindu or the Buddhist or the Muslim instead of the Christian? It is Christian doctrine that sets the Christian apart from all other religions, not peace of mind.
The Christian doctrine is that we must have peace with God, who is the enemy of all sinners. God must be reconciled to us and that can only take place through one mediator, Jesus Christ. He died on the cross for elect sinners so that God's wrath against them would be appeased and that they would be redeemed from their sins. Christ suffers as a substitute in the place of elect individuals so that they do not suffer the penalty of original and actual sins on their part.
Romans 5:1-2
Charlie
Really inspiring information, I appreciate your help!
Brother Downes,
It has been some time since you posted. I pray you are well.
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i love reading the blog. It is indeed true that counsellors should have that personality that is at good condition so that he/she can help the patients through the his/her warm company and pieces of advice. krish from meuble bar
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