One of my friends told me about a time when he sat down with his pastor for consul prior to entering law school. My friend was seeking spiritual guidance for the type of law that he would practice once he graduated. My friend was interested in criminal law, but his pastor strongly discouraged him from this and suggested that perhaps divorce law would be more palatable. "You don't want to defend criminals", the pastor said.
Well, in the end, my friend did become a criminal attorney. And, yes, he does defend many folks that most of us would avoid on the bus. However, I believe God is using him in a powerful way. Yes, he sees people at their worst, but this is not unlike how God sees us!
So the question comes up, "Can it be God's will to go against the advice of a spiritual leader?". Let's get a couple of things straight. Do most pastor's genuinely care about people and try their best to offer Godly advice? Yes. Are pastor's human and prone to short-sightedness and error? Yes.
The Bible says that there is wisdom in the counsel of many. Certainly there are many Biblical examples of people who did not heed wise counsel and paid dearly for it. However, there are also many examples of "well meaning" believers who got it completely wrong.
(to be continued...)
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