Dear Jennifer,

I am facilitating a small group of 4 other women through the MM&L study.  It is FANTASTIC!  Thank you for the work you did to put it together. We are all benefiting so much from all there is to learn.

We all were confused by your statement that “feelings are supposed to serve and strengthen us.”  What do you mean by that?  We get how the good emotions can strengthen us, but we really didn’t understand how our feelings are supposed to serve us.

Sincerely, Jenn

Jennifer’s Answer

Great question girls!  Even what we might consider negative emotions, like anger or rejection, can serve us by exposing error and leading us to truth.  We are taught to “hold every thought captive” in 2 Corinthians, and that principle applies to holding emotions captive too.  We feel them, hold them long enough to consider them, and then allow them to lead us to truth.

Beware that just because an emotion is positive (like glee or relief), doesn’t mean it’s always based on truth.  What if the gleeful feeling is a response to selfishness?  Positive emotions in and of themselves don’t “serve” you unless they also become an intuitive detective that leads you to truth.

The statement in the Bible study made you think, and I love that!  My goal in addressing feelings is not for us to become a female “Spock”, but rather to assess our feelings and let them always point us to truth.  We feel our feelings, but we don’t think with them.  Thanks for thinking about my statement–way to go!

Your friend, Jennifer

Are your feelings based on truth or do you need to let go of some? Leave a comment here.