Faulty Feelings

Sometimes we just don't feel like Christians. It may be we are just low on emotional kindness. Sometimes we just don't feel nice, or patient, or forgiving. As Christians what are we supposed to do? Should we sit around and wait until we feel like loving and forgiving again? Should we fake those emotions? Should we try to will ourselves into feeling that way again? More importantly, what about those time when we don't even feel love for God? Have we grown apostate? Are we fallen?

Actually, Christianity is all about these moments. Those times when we don't feel emotionally drawn to do what we are called to do. What did Jesus say about this? "Take up you cross and follow Me." No one is always comfortable carrying his or her cross, thats just not the way it works. Sometimes we must chose to deny our emotions.

So what do we do? First, we pray. Whatever we may be going through, we should bring it to the Throne of God. Then, we obey. God does not ask us to conjure up feelings and emotions. God never tells us that we are to 'feel like Christians', He tells us to act like them. We will run into unpleasant times, in the physical, emotional, and spiritual levels. This is not necessarily a sign of apostasy. It may, in fact, be a sign that one has some growing to do that we did not realize up to this point. God shows us where we need to improve at a rate that we can follow, and He will not ignore a point just because we do so.

God does not use the Irresistible or the Indisputable because they work against the very thing He is working towards. God will not force His Will because He desires us to become like Him by choice, not by force. It is not a question of whether or not He can, but whether or not it is right. God does indeed desire us to become like Him, in both thought and action, but He will not make us do so against our will. God's desire is for us to be His heirs in truth, not as mechanical drones that are forced to be obedient due to lack of choice. We see this choice from Adam and Eve in the Garden, (Genesis 3) down to the Israelites choice in the wilderness, (Joshua 24:15) the Kings of Israel and Judah, and the choices made by those in the New Testament.

Conclusion

So what does that mean for our emotions? Well, that God will not force us to emotionally be 'stuck' in Super-Christian mode. In fact, most of our growing happens in the slumps we face, not in the high points. We find that Joseph, Moses, Elijah, and David all grew through extremely low points in their lives. The key is to continue in obedience to what we know, not what we feel.