Our son was an excellent football player in high school. At one point he was advised to pursue a college career in that sport. But instead, he chose to go to Bible college to prepare for the ministry. Today he is a missionary in Eastern Europe, and if you ask him, he’ll tell you that he is really glad he didn’t listen to that advice.
We all constantly make decisions concerning some direction in life, and sometimes we ask the counsel of others with regard to those decisions. Yet counsel can be a dangerous thing if it comes from the wrong source.
In Psalm 1:1 God says, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.” As God begins the book of Psalms, He wants us to understand how important it is to get good counsel. Later in Psalm 1 He will say that the blessed man puts his confidence in the counsel of the Word of God with regard to the decisions of life.
The word “counsel” is a word that refers to consultation and advice. The idea by implication is that a plan is being devised, and in the process of deliberation, advice is being sought from another In the context – that advice is being given by godless individuals. In other words, their orientation to life does not include God. It is advice from a secular source that does not take into account the plan and purpose of God for life. Now God is saying that we should steer clear of that kind of advice.
For instance, God in His Word tells us to not love the world. But the counsel of people who do not know God is just the opposite. “Love the world!” they say, and “Get all of it that you can!”
Now that’s about as opposite as you can get. And the course of your life will be greatly influenced by whom you listen to. So if you want to be blessed of God, there’s no question about it – you will not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.
Hey — Be smart! Go to Christ for your advice. He’s the Wonderful Counselor, you know.