God made us with the incredible capacity to feel. We feel as one of our five senses, but we feel inwardly with something more intangible. The ability we have to experience a whole range of emotions like joy, anger, peace, sadness, pride, and fear is
incomprehensible at times.
We spend a lot of time trying to figure out what causes us to have certain emotions. We either want to have those feelings again or we want to avoid them. We also realize that some emotions that appear bad are actually beneficial. No one likes to face their fears,
but fear is a powerful emotion that causes us to act when needed. I believe this is why the Bible reminds us that no one understands the mind/heart like God (Jeremiah 17:9–10). Our hearts can be deceptive, meaning that our emotions are not always reliable guides for understanding what is right or wrong.
Since emotions are part of who we are, our goal then becomes: how do we manage them correctly? No one necessarily chooses to get angry, and in fact, we probably experience anger before we even realize what is happening. The feeling of anger is not necessarily the issue, but rather what we do with it. This is why Paul can say, “Be angry and do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26). However, this does not mean every expression of anger is justified or that an emotion cannot itself become sinful.
How does this apply to other feelings? I believe Jesus masterfully puts two emotions side-by-side in the Sermon on the Mount to teach us common principles between them. In Matthew 5:21–26, Jesus addresses anger. Immediately after this teaching, he discusses lust (vs. 27–30). It is possible for someone to experience anger without wanting to take someone’s life. In the same way, it is possible for someone to feel attraction without lusting. Attraction is not the same as intentionally cultivating lustful desires, just as an immediate feeling of anger is not the same as harboring hatred. In both cases, Jesus teaches that God is concerned not merely with our outward actions but also with the inward motivation. As Solomon says, “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back” (Proverbs 29:11).
Sadly, our world and, at times, the church have mishandled how we address emotions. We focus on the emotion itself as wrong instead of getting to the core of the issue, which has to do with what we do when an emotion arises. Of course, this also means examining whether the emotion itself is appropriate and whether we are allowing it to develop into sinful attitudes or desires. The goal is not simply to suppress our emotions, but to evaluate and direct them according to God’s will. Some emotions need to be restrained, others need to be cultivated, but all need to be examined. We should neither fear every emotion nor follow every feeling. Instead, we should learn to recognize what we feel, examine why we feel it, and determine whether our response reflects God’s design for us.
Billy Camp
Dalraida church of Christ is a congregation of Christians that meet in the mid-town area of Montgomery, Alabama. Our goal and purpose is to seek and follow God and His Word in everything that we do in life.