Love, as an emotion, is kind of a weird thing to think about.
Love is something that is deep and abiding, like a current in the ocean as opposed to a whitecap that forms when the wind blows and then disappears just as quickly. Love is the little “me” inside that is overflowing with enthusiastic excitement, and is dying just to be let out of his cage just so he can hold your hand and walk with you in the park. Love is the flesh of the wound that is inflicted when I hurt someone. Love feels grief, pain, and loneliness intensely; love softens the wounds of hatred, malice, and sharp remarks.
But love is not an emotion. All those emotions follow love like a bumper sticker, but love is not feeling. Love is a choice. Love is action. Love is deliberate; love is habitual. Love is so closely tied up with trust, honesty, and truth, that sometimes it seems hard to tell the one from the other. Love is boring at times, sometimes even drudgery, because love is working towards the greatest good, and that work is not always sunshine and roses. Love is bold and courageous, because I really have nothing to lose but myself, and love is not selfish.
Showing posts with label emotion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label emotion. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, March 10, 2008
Emotionalism
One thing I heartily dislike in "worship" (praise, actually), during most church services is when it is done in such a way as to foster a "worshipful" emotional state.
This focus in "worship" does two things:
It supports the (false) idea that worship consists in a certain feeling, rather than the consecration of my will to God's will.
The second thing that it does is to take my eyes off of true worship and puts my focus on a warm/fuzzy feeling which is so far from the true service of God.
I would much rather skip the portion of the service (though song is a very appropriate form of praise) and spend more time strengthening my faith with preaching from the Word of God. Perhaps I am waxing slightly heretical to favour rationality over emotion, but I think not.
"Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." (I Corinthians 14:12-15, emphasis mine)
This focus in "worship" does two things:
It supports the (false) idea that worship consists in a certain feeling, rather than the consecration of my will to God's will.
The second thing that it does is to take my eyes off of true worship and puts my focus on a warm/fuzzy feeling which is so far from the true service of God.
I would much rather skip the portion of the service (though song is a very appropriate form of praise) and spend more time strengthening my faith with preaching from the Word of God. Perhaps I am waxing slightly heretical to favour rationality over emotion, but I think not.
"Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." (I Corinthians 14:12-15, emphasis mine)
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