What are emotions and why do they matter? Emotions are complex reactions that occur within us and involve a mix of subjective psychological, physiological, and behavioral responses. They help us survive, make decisions, connect with others, and tell us what we value.
Emotions tend to get a bad rap because we think of emotions as irrational and being logical as rational. The truth is that no one is 100% rational or logical. Everyone is irrational at times. At times, everyone makes decisions based on our emotions. On top of that, even our logic is informed by our emotions. Being irrational isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Our emotions exist to serve us so that we may be able to love and serve others well. It’s when the order gets reversed and emotions become the driving force in our lives that things can get a bit wonky.
When it comes to emotions, the goal is to neither vilify nor idolize them. We were created with emotions because they enrich our lives. Emotions bring meaning and value to our relationships with God and others when felt and expressed in healthy ways. For instance, romantic feelings could sometimes be seen as irrational… but if we never felt them, we would never fall in love with someone. Can you imagine how different life would be if we never felt the emotion of romantic affection?
Ultimately, God is the one who reigns over us, not our emotions. If we want to know how to feel and express our emotions in a healthy way, we look to Jesus who is our perfect model. He felt emotions deeply and expressed them perfectly. He didn’t stuff or avoid them nor did he let them take over the reigns to his life. Not only is Jesus our model, but he’s the one who first loved us and continues to do so. His love enables us to love ourselves and others. His compassion toward us allows us to be compassionate. And his comfort helps us to comfort others.
Next time you are feeling confused about a feeling (whether it’s yours or someone else’s), take a moment to get curious about why it’s there instead of trying to judge it as good or bad/right or wrong. We can follow the example of Jesus and offer care and compassion even in the complex world of emotions.
