Compare & Contrast in Biblical Counseling
Patrick Carron
Liberty University

Compare and Contrast Counseling
When an individual takes on the role of a Christian counselor, they are maturing in Christ. What this means is that they are choosing to be more like Christ, submitting to him and the standards set by him. Those believers that have matured have the characteristics of having an attitude and acting in accordance with the principles set forth in the Bible and are influenced and guided by the Holy Spirit. The life experiences, the surroundings, and the persons own personality becomes understood as he/she matures in Christ. The sinful acts of temptation, being full of sin, and those experiences they have in life tend to affect the person even less as they mature spiritually. And yet, as the person grows more spiritually, they become aware of their own sins, faults, and disorders which give them a greater need for God. One should not look at counseling as the cure-all. Counseling tries to help men and women free themselves of the sin that has overtaken their lives, and to show them that through the Holy Spirit, they can come to know God in a new and friendly way and live a life that is not only showing obedience to God, but to also live life according to the Scripture that has been set before us.

Goal of Christian Counseling Many individuals would think that the goal of Christian counseling is to make the individual happy. This is not the case. “Neither the goal of Christian life or counseling is the individual’s happiness” (Crabb, 1977, p. 21). Does this not sound odd? I mean, shouldn’t our own happiness take precedence above all else? When this happens, we tend to lose sight of the bigger picture. When an individual becomes consumed in their own happiness, they lose sight of the bigger picture, and that is pleasing God. By entering into a deeper