Does Proverbs 26:4 contradict verse 5?

[77150]

Originally Posted by Ohio

If the counsel is right, healthy, time-tested, and peer-approved, then he who counsels might bear some grief for the couple still breaking up, but it won't be guilt, especially not the kind of guilt young soldiers face for shooting young children.

I don't think the example is very good. Try another please.

The examples are meant as an illustration to explain how you could counsel both to do something and not to do something, as in the two verses in Proverbs. Would you counsel not to "fight the war on terror" because a soldier might get PTSD? Or would you counsel to "fight the war on terror" because of the need for security?

My point is that if you have to take both factors into account. Every soldier should understand the risk of innocent casualties and should decide they can live with that before enlisting to fight.

The second example shows that even in a Christian ministry there are also risks.

But since you asked for another I will provide a third. Suppose someone working with kids, say a teacher, observes signs that are a risk factor for suicide in a student. This teacher, by law, is responsible to report this. Now suppose this teacher does report this, but because of the short staff at the school that day the report is not read until the child leaves the building. If that child then goes home and commits suicide, how will that teacher feel, how will that social worker/guidance counselor feel?