Emotion: the Enemy of Action

Nearing the end of my freshman year in high school, I had this girlfriend who really liked me. And, well, I kinda liked her.. It was one of those typical high school relationships that started off well, but flamed out faster than a Kesha song. (Wait, she's still around? Could've sworn that comparison was gonna work by now... sorry, future generations.) When I was ready to end the relationship of a healthy month and a half, I felt really bad for being the one who was going to break her oh so precious heart. So, I didn't. I dragged it on for another month before I finally "ended" it by just not talking to her for over a week. Then, to make matters worse, my friend and I thought it would be funny to call her and leave her a voice-mail saying that he hadn't heard from me in over a week as well, and that he heard I got in a bad accident involving a car wreck.

Yeah. (Hey, judgers, I was fifteen!)

Needless to say, she freaked out, thinking that I was dead. Then, my sophomore year of high school I was basically blacklisted by the ladies. Not cool. I wouldn't suggest ending a relationship like that.

My sense of right and wrong - or my sense of morality - was telling me this was wrong behavior. But my emotion was telling me to do what was easy on me... and what I thought was funny. But it wasn't really funny, and I knew what the right thing to do was. The problem is, I let my emotion win the battle in my decision making process.

If there's one lesson I've learned that's more important than any other in regards to following this faith that I love, it's that emotion kills intention. Emotion is the enemy of action. I knew what was right to do, but I couldn't make the tough decision because I knew that I wouldn't enjoy going through it. I went with my "feelings" at the time. And the one thing I know now that I wish I would've understood fifteen years ago, is that I need to cut emotion out of the decision-making process.

When we need to make tough choices, such as the choice to obey or not, emotion can no longer be a factor. Emotions will always lead to self-preservation, or self-defense. They are centered around the subject of the one feeling the emotion. It will cause you to make decisions that seem to benefit yourself, but really only serve to postpone the pain for a later day. They keep you comfortable, and in keeping you comfortable, they kill the will.

Now I'm not saying emotions are inherently bad. They serve a great purpose in our lives, causing us to feel things like compassion and hurt for others, which in turn, lead us to help others with greater urgency. But although emotion can lead to action, it can never sustain it. When I get into a situation where my emotion brought me there, my emotion will always take me out of it as well. Why? Because, no matter what the situation or however high the passion, emotion will fade over time, and passivity or complacency will set in. And when it does, the need to self-preserve will take order in my life, causing me to do what feels good at that time. Emotion lives in the moment, only. It cannot see past it, it is produced by the moment alone. And what good is placing our lives in the hands of something that can only live in the moment?

Jesus said we need to "deny ourselves and take up our cross daily." (Matt. 16:24) And in my loose translation that means: "Deny the things that kill your will, because, in order to follow me, you will have to make tough choices that go against all the things you want to do to keep you comfortable!" Jesus knows the condition of the human heart. We don't want to have to make tough choices. We want to be comfortable. But Jesus is telling us that the only way to fulfill your calling and be like me is to deny yourself!! Kill your emotion! But the great thing is, THAT IS OUR BEST LIFE!

Jesus knows what's best for us.. He can see beyond eternity! He's telling us that, in order to make a difference in this world and be the person you were fully intended and created to be, you're gonna have to get over some of the things that you don't "feel" like doing. Daily. This is no easy task. It is true that the right choice is often the hard choice. But the right result is always the product of the right choice.

I can intend to be the person God created me to be until the day I die, and it will never change a thing until I decide to get over my own selfish desires and self-preservation mindset, and make choices that make a difference. Obedience does not require emotion, it simply requires obedience.

So, if you're ready to follow, then get ready to remove emotion out of the equation. There's no room for it here. Only obedience. Because you don't want people thinking you're dead when you should be saving them.

Helping over Complaining

I was sitting at Starbucks yesterday, enjoying my coffee and waiting on one of my friends to show up, while my ears happened to stumble upon a conversation being had between a group of middle-aged women. Stop me if you know where this is going...

They were Christians, it seemed, and they were talking about people. Well... complaining, really. Now, I don't know these ladies and I'm going to assume they meant the best and had the right heart towards what and who they were talking about. But, God told me something in that moment that has been messing with me ever since. It was a question that we can all ask ourselves, especially if you're a leader:

"Are you complaining about people more than you're helping them?"

Ouch. That hurts.

You see, when God asks me questions like that, He usually already knows that I am that person, but He's just asking me because it allows Him to rub it in a little more...

It's easy to talk about people. They are crazy. They frustrate me to no end. And just when you think you're making breakthroughs in people's lives, they go and do something stupid again.. It's like a never-ending cycle. And then there's me. The perfect one......... oh, wait..

Often times, the reason we get frustrated and just complain about people is because we've forgotten the grace that's been poured out on our lives and have failed to appreciate it. When God saw that the world was going the opposite way He intended it to, He didn't call a conference with the angels and have a mass counseling session where He and all the angels just discussed their feelings... He went and did something about it! In the book of Ephesians, chapter 2 it says that even while we were "dead" in our sins, Christ came for us! It goes on to say that this is a "gift" from our Heavenly Father. We didn't earn it. He just gave it.

So, the question then is, "Are you complaining, or are you giving?" I want to be someone who helps people more than I complain about them. I want to be someone who helps those burdened by sin, because I know the pain and heartache it's caused in my own life.

Galatians 6:1-2 says this: "Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path.... Share each other's troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ."

I don't think there's any fancy way of interpreting myself out of helping people there. That's my calling.

We do a lot of talking in the church, and it's good to suss things out and get things off your chest... But if we're doing more talking than helping, we've got to get our priorities straight. No one had to sacrifice more than Christ did, and He did it in order to help us. The first thing Jesus did after He was commissioned into ministry from fasting 40 days in the desert, was get a couple guys to go with him and start preaching the good news and healing people left and right. Lights, camera, ACTION.

We need to be people of action. There are people who desperately need Jesus, and our complaining about how dumb they are doesn't get them any closer to Him. But if we choose to help, to get our hands dirty and do things that are sometimes uncomfortable, then there's a chance they might get to know Him... and that, my friends, is the point.