How do you feel? What are you feeling? I don’t feel like doing that! Why do we speak in ways that reflect how we allegedly feel? I once heard someone ask, “If you had a friend who constantly lied to you. If they caused you to do things that you knew were wrong and flat-out confused you at times; you wouldn’t want to hang out with that person would you? You certainly would have a hard time trusting them or wouldn’t trust them at all. Right? Well, that’s exactly what our feelings do to us!” You know what? She was right! Far too often, I find myself and the people I am around talking about things and conveying them as if our feelings truly mattered. That thought taken out of context, can become somewhat discouraging because I have learned, in the grand scheme of things, our feelings don’t truly matter. Why do I say that? It’s simple; our feelings are like the weather not only is it constantly changing but just because it’s raining and you may prefer to run when it’s nice does not mean you still can’t go running. You may get a little wet and perhaps it’s more uncomfortable than you truly like, however if you dress properly for the activity, there is no reason why you still can’t have a productive run. Ok, but you don’t understand, I really can’t go running when it’s raining outside. Alright, if that’s the case, then you must realize it may not be raining tomorrow and you make plans accordingly.
While the above example is often how we view certain situations, the reality is none of that describes an actual feeling, it’s a preference. I believe recognizing this difference can help us determine positive ways of reacting to various circumstances. For example, I prefer football over hockey or soccer. I have no true feeling about the other two sports and in fact believe that the athletes in those sports are incredible. The stamina that a soccer player must have and the things that a hockey player can do on two thin pieces of metal are amazing. I still neither care for nor watch either sport!
I must confess that I have allowed my “feelings” to dictate my behavior for many years. As a result, some of my actions have been less than positive. I don’t want to be misunderstood, feelings in and of themselves aren’t bad. However, I have come to understand that our feelings should be viewed as tools. Why? How we view/use the word feeling can be the key that determines what doors we open in our everyday lives.
Considering this context, another word to describe feelings would be intuition or discernment. While I understand that my feelings often cannot be trusted, I must still use discernment. That is where God comes in! By staying in tune with Him and remaining grounded in His word, we are better able to decipher which things are coming to us from God and His Spirit and which things are not. God is not the author of confusion but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33), therefore if our preferences are causing confusion, we should take notice and use extreme caution. Is there a solution? Yes there is, it’s the Word of God!