Lables

When someone comes in for counseling one of the first things I watch for in the data gathering process is to look for where the world and or psychology has mislabeled things in their world view. A goal of biblical counseling is most definitely focused on Christlikeness, my means to that end is often focusing on reshaping their worldview into one that is theologically sound so that it becomes a right biblical worldview. Christlikeness will follow most often a right biblical worldview. In this process of relabeling their world view we may be working on something as simply as helping them see that the phrase “affair” should be relabeled as “adultery.” Christians should be taught to use language that supports a biblical worldview and in biblical terms. People are full of labels from the world. Labels like alcoholism being a sickness rather than a choice or homosexuality being another race of people “born that way” rather than a choice that is not according to God’s design. Labels are most dangerous because they excuse away responsibility for sin. When the labels in someone's head are reprogramed to reflect a biblical worldview, a new hope is born because it becomes much easier to provide the counselee with hope. If they are no longer labeled a misfit of society but now see themselves as a perfectly created child of God that has simply (sinfully) gone against the intended ways of God, this new found biblical language should give hope to the sinner that if they believe in the promises of God, repent and begin to walk according to God’s ways then they will enjoy the fruits of right living.