It never fails. If you ask advice from your family and friends on how to handle a problem, a crisis, or just a difficult situation, most of the advice you will get is based on a worldly understanding of the problem and not focused on giving thoughtful, spirit led and soul-stirring advice. In fact, there are several places in the Bible where the extent and commonality of worldly advice is truly demonstrated.
Within the story of Job, his wife offers him the worldly advice of Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die (Job 2:9b). Even Job, in his day, acknowledged the worldview of seeking godly counsel when he told his friends, What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him? Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me (Job 15:21). While he was in the middle of a trial by the hands of Satan, he had enough wisdom to realize that neither his wife or his friends were providing Godly advise, but were offering what he correctly called “the counsel of the wicked.”
Now do not misunderstand, not everyone that provides us advice is wicked; however, their advice must be weighed against what the Bible tells us. I would not count Job’s wife as a wicked woman, however, her advice was wicked—it called for Job to curse God and wait for judgment. To curse God would be a sin, and the wages of sin is death; after this, the judgment of God (reference Job 2:9, Romans 6:23, and Hebrews 9:27). What terrible advice to tell someone to willfully sin and await the judgment of God!
Just as Job’s wife probably loved him deeply and wanted to see him out of pain and suffering, many of our family and friends, some saved, some not, also take no pleasure in seeing us endure pain, hardships, trials, and confusion. Often they are quick to offer up solutions to our problems. I think of the story of Sarah, the wife of Abraham, and her understanding of God’s promise and the customs of ancient Mesopotamian society. She knew she was past the age of bearing children, but rather than to wait upon God and to see what He had planned, she told Abraham, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai (Genesis 16:2). There can be no doubt that Sarah loved Abraham and she wanted to bear him an heir, the son of promise, but based on her own understanding of their situation, she offered advice that can be considered as the “counsel of the wicked.” God warns us to Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). Even the prophet Jeremiah added that The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9). If those who are truly walking in the faith can offer us bad advice, what makes us think that the world’s advice will be any better?
In truthfulness, we cannot expect the lost world—whether it be family or close friends—to be able to offer godly and spirit led advice either. David, the psalmist and King of Israel, penned the words, Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful (Psalms 1:1) as both a warning and promise to us as we seek to find meaning in the trials and obstacles we face. When we take advice that is founded on the common worldview and not centered on a God-ward worldview, we are inviting even more difficulty into our lives.
