Why It’s Important That Your Counselor Has a Biblical Worldview, Part 3

This article is part 3 of a 4 part series, where we we are looking at how worldview affects counseling practices.  Last time we answered the worldview questions, “Who am I and what is my purpose in life?” We looked at how the Bible explains that humans are created in God’s image, made to be in fellowship with God, and made with a purpose to bring him glory. We looked at how sin entered the world and as a result all people are born inherently sinful and not inherently good. Even though our sin separates us from God, Jesus’ death and resurrection provides a way for us to be made new, to be in fellowship with God, and to once again live out our purpose. This worldview affects how we help people who are in crisis. If your counselor does not have this worldview, you may be encouraged to seek out your own standards by which to define yourself and your purpose.

This month we will answer the question, “What is our biggest problem?” Another way to ask this is, ”What is wrong with the world?” We can see all around us that something is broken. There is death, disease, suffering, conflict, and oppression. Where does all this evil come from? Some people think that our problems are caused by a lack of education or by a certain political or economic system. It is important to know if the cause of all our troubles is something inside or outside of us.  

Our biggest problem as individuals is our sin. Sin can be defined as “any want of conformity to, or transgression of, the law of God” (Westminster Shorter Catechism). Our sin separates us from God and condemns us to an eternity in Hell (Ephesians 2:1-3). It doesn’t matter if we can solve a host of other problems if we can’t identify our biggest problem. Our biggest problem as a society is also sin. Since everyone is born inherently sinful, our relationships will be full of conflict, and we will suffer not only from our own sinful choices but from the sin of those around us (James 4:1-2). Our biggest problem on planet earth is, you guessed it, also sin. When sin entered the world, it not only affected mankind but the rest of the created world as well (Romans 8:20-21). Thus we on planet earth suffer from natural disasters, viruses, famines, birth defects, etc. Sin is the great equalizer: it’s everyone’s biggest problem. 

If you desire counseling, it’s important to know what your counselor believes for the reason why the world is broken. If the root of every sin lies within the human heart, then that explains why we cannot have utopia here on earth. If sin is the cause of our biggest problem, then that means that even though we will suffer from the consequences of others’ sins, we don’t need to suffer needlessly from our own. It also means we don’t need to be saved from our negative emotions: emptiness, loneliness, fear, anxiety, or depression. We need to be saved from sin and then as we abide in Christ we learn how to respond rightly to suffering and we learn how to live with hope and purpose.

Written by Casey Davidson