Emotions?

A common misperception among us as Christians is that feelings don’t matter. There is an old adage that goes, “Facts, Faith, Feelings” where “Feelings” are optional. This does apply to the truth of the Gospel. It applies to science as well, it doesn’t really matter how much I want to believe that gravity doesn’t exist, or how I feel about it, it’s still here.

However, somehow at times I am guilty of taking this to another level. I come to be callous to my feelings. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes feelings get all mixed up like my Etch-a-sketch, but if I’m feeling sad or distant from people, it’s a warning sign that something could be wrong. At times I am guilty of the self-mutilation for the sake of others. While it may sound noble, it’s highly destructive and in many cases not in keeping with God’s will.

Let me give an example, what if I decide that I need to help people, so I go running around downtown and rescuing people from fires, walking old ladies across streets and counseling people. However, in the process I decide I can do more work if I don’t eat lunch, or dinner. In fact, I decide I don’t need to eat at all, that way I can do more good. I would be doing good couple of hours but soon (I don't have a lot in the reserve tank), I’d be hurtin’ pretty bad. By neglecting my needs, I’d be able to do more “ministry” temporarily, but I’d be hurting my “ministry” in the long term. In fact, I would be much better off if I took time and ate healthy meals regularly, then I would be better equipped to help people more!

The same applies when we neglect our family, our basic needs like sleep, exercise, time with God and time for some relaxation. Further, our emotional health is very important. If you’re not listening to what your emotions are saying, you may be missing what God is telling you about yourself. It’s like driving your car down the highway looking for billboards that your gas tank is empty, when if you would just look at the dashboard (which a brilliant engineer put there for just such a purpose) you would know!

More lessons that I should have learned before I got to seminary! On that note, I’m starting a regular exercise schedule to help keep my body a fine-tuned God-directed ma-chine.

In other news, Andi came down for the weekend. We had a blast and I laughed my rear off. Girlfriends can be fun! And my sister Dawn made an apperance today. It was cool. Even if I do commit academic suicide. In the end, I'm glad I was able to hang out with two cool girls in one weekend.