Spirituality of Emotions

When I told my brother, Jeff, that one of the classes I am taking as a novice is “Spirituality of Emotions,” he said, “It doesn’t seem like you’d need that, since you already have a counseling degree.” Actually, I’m finding the class very helpful, because emotions are our teachers throughout our life, and it’s good to recommit to working with them.

As I’m adjusting to community life, I’m grateful for the reminder that it is not others who make me angry or happy; rather, I generate my own feelings, based on how I choose to respond to interactions with others. When feelings of disgruntlement, agitation, or sadness demand my attention, further examination typically reveals that the world isn’t conforming to my view of how things should work. Thus feelings can be a tool for the dying to self that needs to occur for us to find greater freedom and peace.

Being a follower of Christ doesn’t shield us from feelings of anger, shame, guilt, and depression. Jesus himself showed us in the temple how anger can lead us to fight for what we believe; he showed us at Bethany how grief can lead us to life on the other side of a painful loss. Our humanity as revealed in our emotions is not something to be suppressed. Rather, in God’s design, and as shown in the life of Jesus, our human emotions can lead us to healing, transformation, and unity within the Body of Christ.