Feelers and Thinkers - Part IV

I feel real tension in my life regarding this issue, and I think this will be the last post on it for a while. One of the worst feelings that we can have is anomie, and that is me right now. I'm way too old to make major changes in my ways of doing things. Or maybe I'm not, but it feels that way. It takes so long to see the benefits or negative consequences of serious change, and that fact works against grandpa's willingness to take risks.

The Bible would seem to say that our actions should not be dependent on feelings. We are to love one another and God whether we feel like it or not. We are to be submissive to authority and to or mates whether we feel like it or not. We are even to give our bodies to our mates irrespective of how we feel. That is pretty heavy. We are to honor our parents, refrain from gossip, lying, envy, lust, and even worry about food, shelter, and clothing regardless of feelings. We are commanded to do these things. We are told to choose the narrow path.

Choices are about thinking, but being passionate enough in our love of Christ to be willing to choose what commonly appears to be a difficult path requires feeling. And the choice we make to follow Christ, certainly that requires both feelings and thinking.

Maybe you have this all worked out in your life, or maybe you just don't consider these kinds of things at all. Today, this question seems really important to me.