Today I wanted to share what I would call my “theology of emotions.” As a therapist, I know we deal with a lot of emotions, but I believe that emotions are much bigger than just mental health. As a Christian, I believe emotions have theological origin and connections.
A lot of clients I see wrestle with questions such as: “Are emotions ok to have?” or “Do feelings ignore my faith?” Here is my personal and professional philosophy: emotions are neither good nor bad, right nor wrong; they just are. They are not prescriptive things that we assign to the day’s events; they are a descriptive of what has happened in the day’s events.
When we have a feeling of excitement and joy, that comes out of an experience that we found to be quite pleasant. When we feel sadness or grief, that comes out of an experience that was a loss: a loss of a friendship, a loss of a spouse, a loss of a loved one, a loss of a job, a loss of some aspect that is part of you. And so on and so forth for every emotion. I think that by God’s grace, emotions are something that allow us to label or make better sense of our experiences. It is strange if something happens to us and we just remain stoic, not knowing how to respond to it. Our emotional responses to situations can help us navigate what has actually happened to us.
Theologically, this all ties into Genesis 1:27, which says that we are “created in the image of God, both male and female.” God has created us as four-fold beings: spiritual, physical, intellectual, and emotional. We see God displaying all of these characteristics throughout scripture.
As an emotional being, we see God displaying the full spectrum of emotions in scripture, yet he was without sin. So, if God is perfect and still displays emotions, we have to conclude that emotions are ok.
We often tend to put others down by saying “they’re so emotional,” or even put ourselves down by saying “I need to quit being so emotional.” Our emotions give us permission to be curious about what is going on. WHY do I feel what I feel? And when I can be curious about the emotions I’m feeling, I don’t have to quickly slap a label of shame on myself and say “I shouldn’t feel sad, it’s so wrong” or “I shouldn’t feel anger, that’s so wrong.” No, it’s ok to acknowledge what you feel, and from there we can draw out what that emotion is connected to and how we can respond in a healthy way. Remember, emotional healthiness is part of our holistic health. Be ok with that, be patient and gracious with yourself as you explore your emotions.
Recent Comments