Bringing It All Together 5: Why EMOTIONS are key

After the last two posts, I'm not about to defy my own summary and elevate emotions over other parts. But I DO want to point out that BECAUSE our culture so tends to elevate the rational/thinking/cognitive parts of us over our emotions, that emotions are something we really, really, really need to pay attention to.

Emotions get a bad rap. They really do! For example, consider the following scenarios:

1:
"She's so irrational right now! She gets upset over every little thing!"
Message: Women's emotions are something you have to tolerate, at least a few days out of the month. Strong emotions are too much.

2:
"Isn't little Johnny so CUTE when he gets angry?"
Message: Children's emotions are something to laugh at, not to be taken seriously.

3:
Wife: "It really hurt my feelings when you told Bob about our fight."
Husband: "But Bob is our friend and you shouldn't feel embarrassed for him to know."
Message: Your feelings don't matter because there is a good reason why I did what I did.

4:
Dad to son: "Be a MAN and stop whimpering like a sissy."
Message: Emotions are not masculine; (and the counterthought!)-- being emotional is feminine and sissy!

These examples show some bad messages that we might send about investigating our emotional lives, but WHY am I saying that EMOTIONS are so critically important?

WHY EMOTIONS ARE KEY:

1. God is a EMOTIONAL being. The Bible tells us that we see God most clearly in Christ, and we know that Christ experienced joy and delight (such as in fellowship with his disciples, in prayer with His Father), frustration (with the Pharisees, over his disciples lack of faith), nurturing care (as he longed to rescue Jerusalem, attended to children), rage (overturning the tables in the market), sorrow (in the loss of Lazarus) and significant pain (betrayal, mocking, torturous death)-- just to name a few. As we express emotions, we mirror these parts of God who made us to feel things deeply.

2. Think of the most "ALIVE" person you know. Are they flat? Unengaging? Expressionless? Insensitive? Passionless? Sluggish? NO!!! They are passionate! Joyful! Attuned! Exuberant! Deeply engaging! Compassionate! Able to express themselves and sensitive to others! Am I right?

3. You can't kill pain and keep joy. You just can't. We humans are deeply committed to avoiding pain. Yet, you can't develop coping mechanisms to avoid heartache, but stay alert and receptive to love, joy, and hopefulness. God just hasn't made us that way.

4. Emotions are key puzzle pieces. In the lifelong process of knowing your own heart, emotions often lead you to the best clues. The places where there is the most pain in your story are the places where redemption can be most deeply experienced. But you'll never get there if you don't acknowledge those painful places. If you pay attention and follow the trail of sadness, grief, anxiety, fear, shame, etc... you will find the places where your heart is most hungry and potentially responsive to God's grace, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, love, and hope.

Paying attention to your emotions is not the same thing as being controlled by them. In fact, if you DO NOT pay attention to your emotions, then you WILL BE controlled by them. So next time you have a strong emotional reaction, stop and pay attention. Notice. Ask what's going on. There's something there worth discovering. And, if you're a person who never has strong emotional reactions, you too should ask why. Feeling deeply is part of what it means to be humans made in God's image.