“For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
Most of us enjoy a good comedy. Side splitting laughter is cathartic. Recently, I ventured out to see the latest “kid flick” with my grandchildren in hopes of laughing our way through the movie. While the film delivered some funny jokes, teachable moments scored higher than the humor portrayed. Even as an adult, I left the theater with some wrong thinking I needed to unpack about the way I maneuver life. The main character “Joy” believed an assumption – this emotion alone would sustain happiness and balance. Her wrong perspective is revealed as the plot unwinds. The other characters included Fear, Anger, Sadness, and Disgust, each frozen in error. The moral of the story revealed all feelings possess validity. Together they equip us for the external and internal way of handling circumstances.
I’ve fought feelings of sadness when weighted by the belief I must be joyful at all times to please the Lord. Didn’t Jesus weep?
For years I believed all anger was sin. Then I read, “Be angry and sin not.”
Anger and disgust filled the heart of Christ when the moneychangers defiled the temple. Righteous indignation should pump through our veins when we encounter degradation, especially in a place of worship.
All of our emotions were woven in as the Creator knit us together in our mother’s womb. God knew we needed emotions. Without them we’d resemble robots. Yet if we allow them to control us, life can turn inside out.
When fear is conquered, joy leaps us forward. When sadness rains in, yet receives compassion from another person, joy floods our souls. Righteous anger filtered through the Word and wise counsel matures us into leaders.
Bottom line – we need emotions. Surrendered to God, they complete us as human beings. They propel us to progress through life.