So two days ago, we read about the principle that your emotions follow your thoughts: new information can result in an emotional response, and having God’s word front and center in your thought life will provide ballast in those rocky moments.
Today, we have the idea that emotions also follow actions… I get the idea that emotions are like that kid in high school who was a pushover, just doing whatever his friends did, because he had no backbone. That was the kid who got into trouble if he didn’t have friends who had much integrity!
When emotions hang out with actions that are based on what’s easy, convenient, or self-serving, they get stuck in a selfish rut. When they hang out with actions based on what is right (even though they don’t want to go along at first), they eventually rise to the occasion.
Okay, maybe not the best metaphor ever written, but it’s working in my head right now… The point is simply that emotions are fickle.
The axiom is to Follow Your Heart, which translates roughly: Do what you feel. On the other hand, God’s word says that the evidence that we belong to Him lies in what we do. The book of James says that faith (believing) without works (doing what is right) is dead (James 2:26).
Becoming more mature in Christ means I say no to myself more and more… As John the Baptist said, He must increase, and I must decrease. That will keep me busy today…
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