by Stan Cox<\/p>\n
Do you feel good about yourself? Your relationship with God? Do you feel good about those with whom you have spiritual fellowship? Do you have joy without measure? A peace which passes understanding? Does a smile invariably crease your face when you contemplate your eternal welfare? It does? Good! Now for the most important question: Upon what do you base all of these positive emotions?<\/p>\n
Hopefully, you have a ready answer to this last question. The proper answer would be, “From a study of God’s word, I recognize that I have been obedient to His will, and am a partaker of the blessings that are reserved for His children.” Now, you might not word it in exactly the same way, but the point is that your good feelings, your emotions, are based upon intellectual recognition. You know you have been obedient to God. You know that God has promised blessings to those who are obedient. You know that God keeps His promises. Therefore you are happy. However, many people experience that same happiness without that intellectual foundation.<\/p>\n
Emotions are peculiar in that respect. You can be happy, sad, peaceful, worried, etc., without a proper foundation. A mother can be worried about the safety of her child when in reality the child is perfectly safe. The people of a city can sleep peacefully in the supposed safety of their beds, not knowing an earthquake is imminent. A follower of Mohammed can glory in his certainty of an eternal reward, not knowing that salvation is to be found only through Jesus (cf. John 14:6). An emotion is valid only if it is based on fact. Worry is appropriate only if there is the potential of harm; a feeling of peacefulness only if there is actual safety; spiritual joy only if a relationship with God actually exists.<\/p>\n
Herein resides the problem with the emotionalism prevalent among religious people today. Too many believe themselves saved, not because they have the facts, but rather because they feel good about themselves. We see that it would be unreasonable for a mother to fret about the safety of her child when she sees and knows her child is safe. Why is it that so many can not see how unreasonable it is to base their salvation upon a “feeling in my heart.” There is a popular notion that the facts don’t matter; that we should stop emphasizing the scripture, and just love one another; that we should emphasize the Man instead of the plan; that it does not matter what you believe, so long as you are sincere. This is simply not so.<\/p>\n
Are you happy? It is an important question. But the second is equally important. Why?<\/strong>\u00a0Upon what do you base that happiness? Think about it.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Stan Cox Do you feel good about yourself? Your relationship with God? Do you feel good about those with whom you have spiritual fellowship? Do you have joy without measure? A peace which passes understanding? Does a smile invariably crease your face when you contemplate your eternal welfare? It does? Good! Now for the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[506,374],"class_list":["post-58855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-emotions","tag-happiness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":33197,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-dont-feel-connected-to-god-or-other-people\/","url_meta":{"origin":58855,"position":0},"title":"I don’t feel connected to God or other people","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I apologise in advance for what may be a lengthy email, but I would love to hear your thoughts on my situation. I am concerned about whether I am loving God properly. I believe in God and the Bible, I am Christian and I try to obey the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6619,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/emotionalism\/","url_meta":{"origin":58855,"position":1},"title":"Emotionalism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 21, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Acts 20:18-38 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When we look at the various denominations around us, it is hard to miss their enthusiasm and the emotional quality to the things that they do. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They really get involved in their worship. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The bigger churches services are large productions. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A friend once\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4656,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-is-closer-to-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":58855,"position":2},"title":"Who is Closer to God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 23, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bob Pulliam Now don't get me wrong! This is not a contest mentality being advocated here. But the question does enter my mind. I surfed over a channel the other day where people had the lights dimmed low, all were holding candles and swaying while singing\u00a0Alleluia. I'm not trying\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Emotional Worship","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/03\/emotionalWorship.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":27592,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-saying-follow-your-heart-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":58855,"position":3},"title":"Is the saying “follow your heart” wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 26, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I want to ask about these verses: \"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?\" (Jeremiah 17:9). \"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life\" (Proverbs 4:23). I have read verses like these (I know there are others)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32663,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-boyfriend-is-agnostic-i-like-him-for-many-reasons-but-his-unbelief-is-getting-in-the-way-should-i-marry-him\/","url_meta":{"origin":58855,"position":4},"title":"My boyfriend is agnostic. I like him for many reasons, but his unbelief is getting in the way. Should I marry him?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I am concerned about my current decision to be in a relationship with a particular man. We have been good friends for nearly a year now, and have recently discovered how compatible we are, in almost every way. However, this is not the case. The one thing that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55228,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-are-emotions-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":58855,"position":5},"title":"When are emotions wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When are emotions wrong? If you feel something, does that make it automatically wrong, or is there more to it than that? One thing I really struggle with is when I feel certain things, I automatically get upset with myself for having felt them at all. Answer: \"He who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58855\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}