students of jesus

“Honestly, I just don’t feel like being thankful.” 

Who said anything about feelings?!?

We’re not responsible for our emotions, are we? It turns out, perhaps we are. Some events--and the emotions that go with them--are beyond our control: unexpected loss, good news beyond all expectation or the hurt inflicted by a loved-one.

Yet, in the everyday-ness of living, I believe that our emotions are largely the result of our habitual thoughts. If we could discern the map of our heart and mind, I suspect we would discover the well-worn pathways of our thinking and feeling. Expressed another way, we train ourselves to think and feel in certain predictable ways. (This is where I should cite studies from the Journal of Psychiatric Studies or some such authoritative-sounding publication, but no: I’m just going to share what I’ve observed about myself and others during my few decades of living.) I believe the reason we find repeated exhortations in the scripture to think and feel certain ways is because God has given us the capacity to rule our thoughts and emotions.

So: what if giving thanks is the most reasonable thing a sane person can do?

Ask Yourself: Have I ever considered the possibility that some (many?) of my emotional responses are the result of habit?

Live Into It: Only a fool would train him or her self to deny any emotional resonse. There is a time for weeping and a time for dancing! The keys for followers of Jesus, though, is who and how. Who is Lord of our emotional life, and how do we interact with our emotions?