FEELING

John 6:38—For I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me.

Jose tells his mom and dad that he doesn’t feel like going to bed because he’s not tired. The next morning he informs them that he will not be going to school because it’s boring. Now do you think for one moment his parents are going to permit such conduct? Not if they are caring adults. They understand that to allow their child to act according to his subjective will would be at times not only foolish but potentially dangerous.

If Jose grows up thinking that his action and conduct are predicated by his feeling he will undoubtedly suffer throughout his life. What company will employ a man who only comes to work when he feels like it? What woman will stay married to a man who is unfaithful because he enjoys fooling around? What will his kids grow up to be like if the only attention they get from their father is when he’s angry because he’s been drinking again?

Am I suggesting that all feelings are bad? No! Feelings run the spectrum from harmful to helpful, the key is, as with most things, balance. Jesus said, "If you love Me you will obey My commandments." Love contains feelings. Part of the reason we obey God is because of our feelings of respect and love for Him. Yet there are times when we must obey God when we don’t feel like it. If someone is rude to me my gut churns to spew sarcasm. God’s word says "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen"--Ephesians 4:29. The smug feeling I get for uttering a witty putdown is a lame comparison to the better feeling of being kind because I obeyed God.

So to skip spending time in fellowship with other Christians; to ignore reading God’s Word and spending time conversing with Him; to avoid treating others right all because we don’t feel like it, is as foolish as letting Jose do whatever the heck he pleases. If you and I blow off obeying God remember we are making a statement that our feelings take priority over His perfect will. Rise up and do what is right! If Jesus had lived his life by how He felt (Luke 22:42), and not according to His Father’s will, do you think He’d have died for you and me? Something to think about . . . in reveration.

Inspiration

Right feeling is produced by obedience, never the reverse.—Oswald Chambers in Not Knowing Where