Week 6 | Covenant Relationships | Dan

CR – 11, 12, 13, 14

Words play a crucial role in our lives. Because words have so much power, like a blade, we must choose wisely friends who have permission to speak words into our lives. I know how to listen well, but I’ve never practiced the art of protecting myself from words that are intended to harm me. I never knew I had the option of receiving or rejecting words. I have also never practiced offering reproof or correction to my friends, and I admit I’m lazy and afraid of confrontation. It is my covenantal duty to give and receive counsel. There has to be a harmony of counsel, wisdom, and discernment. In the end, however, we are responsible for our actions because God respects our freedom of choice in certain grey areas.

I like this idea of “respecting the lines of counsel.” We’ve also been learning from Spiritual Authority to remain quiet and speak carefully. I see a lot of wisdom in allowing previously established counsel to flow without everyone butting in with their own ideas. We must also be wary of those who are looking for anyone to agree with them in disobeying another’s counsel. What God speaks through someone may not seem right according to human logic, but we must have faith and continuously pray for discernment and wisdom. We have to get rid of our independent, individualistic attitude and consider what the body is hearing from God. We often look for detailed instructions in situations, but God sometimes simply reveals to us spiritual principles that are in play behind our problems. Rather than demanding the final solution or outcome, we should strive to equip ourselves with spiritual wisdom. A good counselor gets the counselee to come to his own conclusions using the resources that he already has, edifying the counselee in the process instead of glorifying himself. Counsel is more than human advice; It releases power to win spiritual battles in someone’s life.

Sin is the violation of covenant with God or a fellow human. Sin is the breaking of relationship. Love, then, is an action by which we attempt to reverse the fracturing of relationship. Love seeks to restore what was broken. Love, by nature, is confrontational in that we have to actively go and find the other party and fix the parts that are broken. Love will destroy everything that gets in the way of the bond between two people. It doesn’t matter so much who was at fault or what the exact offense was. The important thing is that covenant was broken, and restoring it is the first priority. The Bible even tells us to leave our sacrifice at the altar, go reconcile with your brother, then return and finish the sacrifice.