Day 171 - Fraudulent feelings
Scripture focus: "Why do your disciples flout the rules, showing up at meals without washing their hands?" Jesus answered, "Isaiah was right about frauds like you, hit the bull's-eye in fact." Mark 7:5-6 The Message
Shame-filled people have some crazy beliefs about emotions. Here are a few:
· Feelings are embarrassing and unnecessary
· Avoid messy emotions
· Bad things will happen if one fully feels their emotions
· Forgetting about past hurts is safer than acknowledging the suffering
· Some emotions are acceptable, but most are off limits (anger is bad for example)
· Unless emotions are expressed in really big ways - no one pays attention
Do any of these "rules" sound familiar to you? If so, let's look at some different ways of viewing our emotional states.
· Emotions are a gift from God and serve a purpose
· Emotions are neither good nor bad
· Emotions can be expressed appropriately
· Feeling emotions is an important part of living an authentic life
· Emotions don't just disappear. Feeling them honestly helps us deal with them appropriately.
· Resources are available to help us figure out our emotions and respond to them healthily
· It is appropriate to feel and express anger, fear, worry and anxiety when the situation warrants
· Learning how to feel and express our emotions is an important skill set - and moves us toward maturity
No one enjoys fake anything. The real deal is always better than cheap imitations. You weren't created to be a faux you. Instead of focusing on rules and rigid plans for appearance management, I pray that we will focus our energies on becoming the person God created. Yes, we're messy. Yes, some of us are wounded. It's true - many of us have had life experiences that have scarred us.
Jesus was far more concerned with following God than following rules.
I pray that we get busy about the business of ferreting out rules that we need to reject; and learn new ways of experiencing life that embraces our entire human experience.
Recommended reading: 1 Kings 19 in the morning; Acts 12 and Psalm 136 in the evening
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