Feelings are important to us. We do so much on the basis of what feels good or right. Feelings heavily influence, if not determine, how we act, what we eat, where we go, what we buy, whom we stay married to, and even what we believe to be ‘the truth’. If feelings are taking such a major role in our lives we should know more about them.
When I was in the USA I was privileged to do some fun things. I particularly enjoyed a virtual reality ride. It made me feel I was flying. My stomach was doing that churning thing, like I was on a roller coaster. But as I think about the good time I had on that ride I realise my feelings were fooled by modern technology. Even though I felt I was flying, the truth was I had gone nowhere!
Everything and everyone are constantly manipulating our feelings - advertising, so we buy stuff; political parties, so we vote for them; feuding family or friends, so we side with them; even the movies: to manipulate our feelings is the producer’s whole aim. He wants us to leave the cinema crying, laughing or feeling a certain way about something. The amazing thing is, most of the time it is all based upon a completely made up story. It never happened and probably never will! But that’s the magic of cinema - you leave reality at the door. This demonstrates so clearly that our feelings have a strong inclination towards fantasy and make-believe.
Feelings are good at making things up. My house is on top of a hill. My parents live in the next house down. One night I went down to see them but they weren’t home. When I returned to my place I panicked. My door was locked! I specifically remember leaving it unlocked and as far as I knew my door could only be locked with a key. Someone must be in my house. My feelings took me for a ride. I was so convinced about an intruder that I returned to my parents’ place and climbed onto their roof. My plan was, when I saw this person in the window I would call the police on my mobile phone. After a while my brother turned up so I told him what I thought was going on. But upon entering the house we discovered there was no-one there. Apparently my door can lock without a key!
I felt there was an intruder, based on a small bit of ‘evidence’, which was really just my ignorance. My feelings had me believing all kinds of stuff. But the fact was there was no-one in my house. My sincere belief in what I thought was true was nothing more than my feelings lying to me. I don’t think my feelings getting it wrong about an intruder was a one-off thing. They do things like that every day. Feelings easily manipulate us, they have a bias toward fantasy; and they lie to us. Considering that, would it be wise to trust them in determining something so important as the truth?
Facts matter more than feelings when it comes to reality. The Great Wall of China, for example. We believe it exists because of facts, not feelings. Whether I feel like acknowledging its existence makes no difference to reality. The facts about the Great Wall of China are what make it real, and great. What gets our attention is the fact that it is around 6,700 kms long and cost the lives of an estimated 1,000,000 people to build. But so should another fact. The construction of the Great Wall began between the 7th and 8th centuries B.C. (Before Christ). The Great Wall of China is dated in relation to Jesus Christ. Your birthday (and almost everything else) is dated in relation to Jesus Christ too. Like it or not, this divine individual split the timeline. Even if you don’t accept the Gregorian calendar or Christian influence, you can’t argue with antiquity. There are numerous references to Jesus Christ from non-biblical sources and historians. Jesus Christ was a real, historical figure. His life has affected the world like no-one else. The implications of what He said and did cannot be ignored.
‘What are we to make of Christ?’ There is no question of what we can make of Him, it is entirely another question of what He intends to make of us. You must accept or reject the story. — C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock
What do you believe right now about Jesus Christ? Is it based on facts or feelings? Have you believed a heap of stuff based on a small bit of evidence that maybe isn’t totally right, like my experience with the door-lock? Don’t let feelings rob you of ‘the truth’. You must deal with the facts about Jesus Christ. Will you accept or reject His-story? Whatever your decision, be assured it will significantly affect your life, for eternity.