A Sober-Minded Feeler

God has made us emotional creatures. He often relates to us in emotional terms. God too has emotions, but His emotions don’t sway Him. Ours do.

Therein lies the danger of emotions. Left uncheck they will quickly lead us into emotionalism. Emotionalism is a deadly worldview. It defines everything in terms of subjective feeling. Rather than objective questions of truth, emotionalism is concerned only with how something makes you feel. This is a problem because our emotions are deceiving. The heart itself is deceptive (Jeremiah 17:9). Our emotions cannot be trusted.

Emotionalism is a trap for people like me. I am an unashamed feeler. I have deep feelings. My emotions are easily and quickly kindled. Furthermore, they are often fully embraced. Emotions have a way of making us feel alive and snuffing them out feels deadening.

Here is the challenge: How can emotional creatures enjoy their emotion without falling into emotionalism?

Here is my answer: strive to be a sober-minded feeler. By this I mean that I want to embrace my emotions but I want to do so with a sober mind. The Bible calls Christians to be sober-minded. This means to think clearly, to have an unclouded mind, to be reasonable, objective, and wise. Emotionalism is the opposite of sober-mindedness. To be sober-minded is to have a firm grasp upon reality. It is to live according to what is true and not according to what is felt.

On the surface, these two seem to be mutually exclusive. Yet, the Bible holds both of them up as good virtues of right human living. God wants us to feel. He not only created us as emotional creatures, but He embedded emotion stirring tools throughout creation. At the same time, God doesn’t intend for us to be governed by our emotions. God commands us to be governed by His Spirit with His Word. In this design, He doesn’t less one over the other. He uses them both to hold the other in check.

To be sober-minded you must know the truth. That is to say that you must know the Bible. At the same time, you should feel the Bible. It should stir up deep emotions – defining emotions. But every emotion must be properly submitted to Scripture’s teaching. Every emotion must be felt in light of what is right.

This doesn’t squash our feeling, but enhances it. When we know true justice then injustice will pierce us deeply. When we know true goodness then seeing something good will enliven us. When we know the truth about sin and salvation then our hearts will swell with gratitude.

Feeling isn’t the enemy of faith. Sober-minded isn’t the enemy of feeling. Proper sober-minded living helps shape and inform our feelings. Conversely, our feelings remind us that Christianity is personal and not abstract or mere intellectual advancement.

My advice is to always be a feeler. Be one who feels deeply. But be a sober-minded feeler. Let the objective truth of Scripture enhance true emotions and resist false emotions. We are not governed by feeling, but we are created to feel. Let the Bible inform your feeling.