Human Mind: Thoghts and Feelings – Part II

Author: Romeo Pelle

The Power of Human Feelings

Romans 12:1-4

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Thought – Brief Definition: Thoughts bring things before our minds in various ways that include perceptions and imaginations, and enables us to consider them in various respects and trace out their interrelationships with one another. Our thoughts enable our mind to range far beyond the boundaries of our environment and the perceptions of our senses. By the power of thought, our consciousness reaches into the depths of the Universe, past, present, and future, by reasoning and scientific thinking, by imagination and art – and also by divine revelation, which comes to us mainly in the form of inspired thought.

Feelings – Brief Definition: Feelings incline us toward or away from things that come before our minds in thought. It involves a tone that is pleasant or painful, along with an attraction or repulsion with respect to the existence or possession of what is thought of. How we feel about others, about food, automobile, relationships, positions, and just about everything else illustrates this point.

Thoughts and feeling always go together: they are interdependent and are never found apart. There is no feeling without something being before the mind in thought, and no thought without some positive or negative feeling toward what is contemplated.

Acting ‘As If’

Newspaper columnist and minister George Crane tells of a wife who came into his office full of hatred toward her husband. “I don’t only want to get rid of him, I want to get even. Before I divorce him, I want to hurt him as much as he has me. Dr. Crane suggested an ingenious plan “Go home and act as if you really love your husband. Tell him how much he means to you. Praise him for every decent trait. Go out of your way to be as kind, considerate, and generous as possible. Spare no efforts to please him, to enjoy him. Make him believe you love him. After you’ve convinced him of your undying love and that you cannot live without him, then drop the bomb. Tell him that you’re getting a divorce. That will really hurt him.” With revenge in her eyes, she smiled and exclaimed, “Beautiful, beautiful. Will he ever be surprised!”

And she did it with enthusiasm. Acting “as if.” For two months she showed love, kindness, listening, giving, reinforcing, sharing. When she didn’t return, Crane called. “Are you ready now to go through with the divorce?” “Divorce?” she exclaimed. “Never! I discovered I really do love him.”

Her actions had changed her feelings. Motion resulted in emotion. The ability to love is established not so much by fervent promise as often repeated deeds. (J. Allan Petersen)

“Nuggets” about feelings:

• “A little kingdom I possess,
  Where thoughts and feelings dwell;
  And very hard the task I find
  Of governing it well.” (Louisa May Alcott
• You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings.                                                                                       (Pearl Buck)
• “When you’re feeling terrific, notify your face.” (Jackson Brown)
• “Feelings come and feelings go, and feelings are deceiving;                                                                                                        My warrant is the Word of God, naught else is worth believing.” (Martin Luther)
• “Feelings are a primary blessing and a primary problem for human life.” (Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart, p.117)

“Nuggets” From the Word of God:

• “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” – Proverbs 9:10
• “Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.” Prov.10:12
• “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” Prov. 11:2
• “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.” Prov. 12:25
• “The cheerful heart has a continual feast.” Prov. 15:15
• “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Prov. 17:22
• “He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine will never be rich.” Prov. 21:17
• “Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life.” Prov. 22:4
• “The drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.” Prov. 23:21
• “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” Prov. 29:25

A few questions about our feelings:

1. Think of the great and direct power of feeling (sensation, emotion, sentiment) over human life. How do you see this at work in your daily life? For good? For evil? In yourself? In others?

2. When you need to resist a certain feeling, upon what do you stand to do so? What are your available resources? Let’s think of certain more common ones: irritation when you get interrupted; or anger at another driver that cut you off.

3. Have you thought about the FACT that love, hatred, and other strong human feelings are not just feelings but conditions of the will, which have feelings linked to them?

4. What are some problems you see with basing decisions on feelings? Can we decide without feelings?

5. How can feelings be “godly”? Can you think of some? And some that aren’t?

6. How does pride affect our other feelings, let’s say love and peace?

7. How can you cultivate peace, or joy, or love, or hope?

Conclusions:

• Feelings must be renewed - old ones removed in many cases and new ones installed
• Those who continue to be mastered by their feelings are typically the persons who in the heart of their heart believe that their feelings must be satisfied. They have chosen the strategy of selectively resisting their feelings instead of that of nor having them
• Those who let God be God have the resources of living not being led by feelings – the moment of choice.
• If we are to be formed in Christlikeness we must take good care of our feelings and the thoughts that we know produce bad and unproductive feelings.