By When it comes to identifying an expert we typically look at a person’s experience and education. And for the normal earthly matters of life that is certainly true. Sadly, though, we often look at human experience and human education when looking for experts regarding the matters of our souls. An entire category of occupations have even included the word for soul, “psych-“, in their titles to convince us that the experts of the soul are those who have been trained in the best of humanistic schools and who have the experience of years of research or counselling.
As Christians, we ought to know better than to look at mere education and mere experience as criteria of soul-experts. According to Psalm 119:99, a believer whose mind is filled with Scripture is more qualified to be a counsellor than the professor with the string of PhD’s. The next verse, Psalm 119:100 immediately adds the aged – those with all the experience, as those who are typically considered to be experts in human living, and claims once again that the believer who walks according to the Scriptures is more qualified to be a counsellor. As Charles Spurgeon is quoted for saying:
The worst sort of clever men are those who know better than the Bible.
C. H. Spurgeon
The true experts of the internal affairs of a person’s heart, soul, or mind, are often rather inconspicuous with no public recognition. They are the normal, faithful, godly Christians who know their Bibles and are putting it into practise in their own pursuit of holiness. God affirmed through the apostle Paul that the nameless Christians in a good church, with their Bibles, and their own Christian walk, are the experts in helping one another overcome the struggles of life (Romans 15:14).
Psalm 119:59 When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies.
Psalm 119:92 If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
Psalm 119:98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies
Psalm 119:104 Through your precepts I get understanding
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
Psalm 119:130 The unfolding of your words gives light
Psalm 119:160 The sum of your word is truth