Feelings are wonderful things. They are able to get down inside of us and touch us in ways that we cannot explain. Falling in love involves your feelings. Witnessing the birth of your child involves your feelings. Cheering your favorite team to victory involves your feelings. Feelings can be good, and feelings can be bad. What we like most is when our feelings make us “feel good.”
The trouble with our feelings is (or, at least, one major trouble with our feelings is) that they cannot be trusted as a reliable authority. How often have feelings for a person led someone in the wrong direction? How often have feelings for a stock or investment led someone in the wrong direction? Feelings are wonderful, but they cannot be used as our authoritative guide toward truth and pleasing God.
Don’t misunderstand. While some have tried to divorce feelings from Christianity, such would be a catastrophic mistake. Our feelings (or call it, “emotions”) are involved in our worship—we must worship “in spirit” (John 4:24). Our feelings are involved in our salvation—the removal of sins brings “rejoicing” (Acts 8:39). Our feelings are involved in our study of God’s Word—it is “sweet” to the soul (Psa. 119:103). But, feelings are not a trusted guide in these arenas.
Can you hear Nadab and Abihu saying, when they learned that their efforts to worship God were not acceptable to Him, “But, we just feel in our hearts that this is the way that God wanted us to worship Him!”? Could their feelings have superseded the divine will regarding acceptable worship? Of course not! They were punished, regardless of their feelings.
Can you hear Agrippa saying, when he was pressed by Paul to obey the gospel, “But, I just feel in my heart that I’m ok. I believe in God. I believe His word. I just don’t feel that becoming a Christian is necessary for me”? Could his feelings have overridden the divine will regarding God’s plan of salvation? Of course not! He left Paul and turned his back on God’s salvation.
Can you hear the Pharisees saying, when Jesus told them that they rejected the commandment of God by holding to their traditions, “But, we feel in our hearts that the way we’ve always done things has been good enough for us, and so many lives have been changed for the better”? Could their feelings have overruled the divine will for their lives? Of course not! They would be uprooted by God for causing others to fall into the ditch.
To let our feelings dictate what we believe and what we consider truth is dangerous in any field of life, but most especially when it comes to our souls! Brethren, let us “buy the truth,” and “not sell it” out to our feelings (Prov. 23:23)!