This is the second half of a two-part post entitled It’s What’s In Your Heart That Matters. Part one can be found here. To recap, we’re looking at motives. Specifically, we’re looking into the cloudy mist of feelings and emotions in contrast to unmistakable love.

Is It Sinful To Feel?

If we’re not judged by good feelings, why would we be judged by bad feelings? Again, sometimes we give too much weight to feelings. Hatred, lust, and greed are sin. And all of these can be done at home sitting still & quiet on your sofa. They seem like feelings because they are all internal. But like love and repentance, sin is not a mere feeling or emotion. Hatred, lust, and greed are active sins requiring our cooperation and support in order to exist. Feelings are transient. The issue here is not our feelings. The issue is our motives – what’s in our heart. Vain imaginations build and fortify spiritual strongholds. We must never forget that sin doesn’t just happen – it begins internally. It is not a sin to feel. It is not a sin to be tempted. We sin when we act in an unrighteous manner because of or in spite of how we feel. Remember, temptations often come through feelings. We are responsible for the things we allow or encourage in our imaginations. Temptation begins with a thought, a feeling, a desire. When we encourage or allow those things to linger, they will blossom in our imagination. Inaction in the mind will destroy us. The mind is the place where the devil wants to interact with us. We must take our thoughts captive – resist the devil – or we will be carried away by our lusts.

A Case For Stoicism?     

Clearly, feelings complicate things. Feelings make things like self-denial seem dreadful. But no, this is not a case for stoicism. My friends, I caution you against chasing pseudo-strength as Christians by running away from unpleasantness or hiding from your emotions. I urge you not to deny the harsh reality of a fallen world in hopes of having the capacity to still act in love. I urge you not to shut down your emotions in a vain effort to be free from temptation. Sanctification is a process, one which we all must walk through – not run from. No day will ever come when we no longer need to trust Jesus. May God forbid any of us ever arrive at the conclusion that we’ve reached a point in our relationship with Him that we are no longer dependent upon Him.

I refuse to deny how I feel. I believe to do so is an effective way to run from living a vulnerable lifestyle with God. It’s dishonest, childish, and completely unhealthy. Rather, I do my best to acknowledge exactly how I feel, try to understand why if possible, and most of all, try to act in such a way that I am loving God and others instead of satisfying myself in the midst of my feelings. And in trying my best I fail. Self-denial is turbulent. Remember Jesus’ feelings? He sweat blood in His struggle against sin. His heart almost failed the night he was to be betrayed. He didn’t run from those feelings. He didn’t deny the reality of injustice in an effort to maintain course. He didn’t set His determination by refusing to acknowledge the horror of being murdered. He makes this clear by His prayers in the garden. His “determination” was His love for our Father. Because of that love, He found the strength to choose to remain obedient. We cannot practice obedience by refusing to feel, by refusing to acknowledge painful truths. This is a self-sufficient method (pride) of being righteous before God apart from Jesus and you and I have no righteousness.

Where’s The Good News?

Our feelings do not have to determine our actions. Actions and words validate what’s in our heart. We all know this. When you love someone, you want to do things to protect and nurture your relationship with him or her. Mature love can be summed up in this: self-denial. If you’re a mom or a dad, you know this to be a fact. Our words and actions are evidence of our heart’s reality. So in regards to sin, how do I deny myself without denying the way I feel? Two things: 1) Love. It’s simply not possible to please God without loving God. Nothing is more powerful than love. Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. 2) Humility.

We can’t honestly hope to walk in dependence on God if we’re fighting, kicking, and clawing to be self-sufficient. Any part of my life that doesn’t desperately need Jesus is a stronghold for pride. The Good News is that if you are willing to accept righteousness from Heaven and you’re willing to surrender your own will and desires to God’s will, then you will be given the power to follow Jesus. Consider humility as the new set of guidelines by which you live; living according to the nature of God, living in dependence on Him instead of anyone or anything else – including yourself. We still have the ability to think, feel, choose, and act as we desire. But when we surrender everything, we have the power to choose life. God shares His nature with us – perfect humility. So, we can understand and believe we are free from a master called sin. We are still tempted, like Jesus was. We still have feelings, like Jesus had. But we are no longer slaves. In other words, by law, we are no longer helpless or powerless against this authority. We’re not free from temptation. We’re free from slavery. Practicing dependence on God (humility) gives us the power to choose. Practicing self-denial is the only way to make room for walking in humility. We simply can’t have both.

Ask yourself:

Do my feelings seem to outweigh some Scriptures?

_______

Do I place more importance on my feelings than my actions?

_______

Am I running or hiding from how I feel?

_______

A Simple Prayer of Surrender

___________________________

 

In Your Inbox

Like on WP

Filed under: Humility, Surrender, Will Power Tagged: addiction, christianity, emotions, feelings, freedom, holiness, humility, peace, personal growth, pride