As a guy who almost failed the course called emotional devel., i'm not sure if what i say would have any more merit than anyone else. Then again...it's only a blog=P
I used to thnk that, despite it being an unappreciated creation of God, like flies, emotions are really useless in our quest for purpose and knowledge. AND this may be so. I had held on to the saying,"leave your emotions at the door [when thinking logically/making decisions]" maybe too tightly; I haven't really left much room in myself to think about the purpose of emotions as we search for OUR reason for existance.
I think i still hold on the method of thinking, that one should leave emotions at the door, and should always strive to think logically, without the "corruption" of feelings. THis way of thinking, as i see it now, should be allowed only for a) when doin math eqtns, where emotions cannot help you and ...hahaha.....shouldn't be there in the first place, and b) when it involves the opposite sex. One should always think logically when given the choice to date or not, and other corresponding decisions.
BUT, when it comes to seeking God, one cannot exclude a part of yourself in this search. Since emotions are innate (it's still being debated and such....psychologists don't like the word INNATE ...blah blah blah) we should be able to GLORIFY God with it, no? Well that's simple enough, as we experienced at campus challenge this past long weekend, as we have during all other GI-NORMOUS Christian camps/conferences. the spiritual high. Psalms is all bout the emotions. I didn't understand anything in Psalms, until i once stumbled upon it when i was brokened emotionally. I started to be able to relate to David. Even Paul in his letters were filled with emotion. Every letter had some specific msg, and with each msg you can almost feel his frustration/sincere worry/joy/anger at the original readers.
What i'm trying to say is, Christianity MAKES SENSE, but one needs to be capable for emotionality to be able to reach the deeper levels of GOD, and his love for all of us.
A HA! LOVE!!! hahaha that's an emotion!!!! how can one intelluctually, and solely intelluctually comprehend Love? ESPECIALLY GOD'S LOVE???
There's another side that we have to watch for.
As i had mentioned in my small group at CC, so i will write this down, not only for others, but really mostly so that i can remember.
We often fall into traps, coming out of a GI-NORMOUS christian conference, all in a SPIRITUAL HIGH. We re-integrate ourselves into the secular world, knowing exactly what we need to do, and SPLAT! we land hard on our backs....failing to maintain promises we made while we were on that high. WHy? well i speak for myself, really, that it may be because we try hard to replicate the FEELING/EMOTION of the conference. I came back from Kcamp and TC every year, wanting to make everyone feel the way i felt there. Yes we are suppose to share our experiences and perhaps our motivations, with those who did not come along, but when i tried to recreate the atmosphere in the worship or BS, i failed every time. WHY???? cuz my emotions came from my personal realisation/conviction/repentance. therefore, since we are not all telepathic, others do not share the same experiences from the same point of view. Sharing our joy without sharing the SOURCE of this joy is like copying a homework assignment. It may help them feel better for a while, but on the long run....what are they being joyful about?...only because YOU ARE? it just doesn't help them.
This year, i've held on to what i've learned, and am continuing to make sure i progress in my own spiritual growth. I'VE ESPECIALLY BEEN CAREFUL THAT I DON'T SIT AND MENTALLY CONJURE UP THE SCENES IN WHICH I FELT MOST EMOTIONAL AT THE EVENT. yes i used to do that....yes i WAS a loser.=P however, it's been almost a full week since CC, and i've noticed DRAMATIC changes...Every moment seems to be GOD-CENTRED and i never seem to want to leave my prayer. ANd the funny thing is...i'm living each day with similar emotions that i experienced at CC. hahahahahaha God is so amazing, which is to say, a total understatement.
i hope people read this and give me feedback.
I hope I read this and will give MYSELF feedback.
