Saturday, February 7, 2009
Survey on Emotions
To be honest, I'm not sure where I stand on the issue of emotions in the Christian life. Don't get me wrong, I believe that they exist and that they're important. I am just having difficulty figuring out how I should think about them. Some of my friends say that they are demanded by God and so emotions are commands. I can see their point. Other friends of mine say that commands to "Rejoice in the Lord always" are volitional choices we make which are followed by emotions. They point out that we cannot conjure good emotions when we feel bad. And since God expects it of us, it cannot be unattainable. I am reading "When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy" by John Piper to help get more insight. What are your thoughts on this subject? Where would you go in the bible to point out what you believe? How would you answer my friends who don't think emotions are what God is commanding?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Joe,
I don't believe scripture commands us anywhere to have an experience. That is something out of our control. Salvation is experiential so at times we do experience emotions as God brings things into our lives, but they are not authoritative and so they cannot be relied upon. If we seek emotional experiences as a normal part of our Christian experience, then emotions can become an idol that takes our attention off of Christ. We shouldn't pursue emotions any more than we pursue suffering, and yet both will occur at different times. If we make anything our aim other than Christ, that thing has become for us an idol.
Just a thought: Is worry an emotion? If so, did Jesus imply an alternative when he commanded us not to worry? If there is no implied alternative, does that mean we have the capacity to exist without having any emotion at one time or another?
I don't really have well-developed answers for those questions, but I do think they're interesting. :)
Post a Comment