A Feelings Driven Culture

We live in a culture that believes we must soften everything so feelings won't get hurt, the problem with that is it does not allow the Holy Spirit to work on the hearts of people.

When the truth is told, no matter how softely spoken, it will offend those who are in rebellion.

When our culture is all about feelings over truth, then feelings oriented people, will base their judgments on how someone made them feel, when it was the message that did that, the focus is on the feelings not truth or accuracy.

Believers are often accused of things that are not true because the listener rejected the person based on their own feelings instead of the message. Feelings oriented judgments lead us into sin and wrong judgments.

Feelings are not accurate, sometimes a person can "feel bad", if they are jealous of someone else. They will feel in competition with their target, but it s unjustified and selfish. Rather than enjoying the blessings of others, the jealous one feels bad, even rejecting the one who is blessed to diminish their joy while elevating themselves.

I sure am glad that engineers use fewer feelings and more reason, or their bridges and buildings might be falling down all the time. Those who base all their responses on their feelings often destroy relationships that could otherwise be good, just as the engineer who ignores accuracy would build faulty structures that will not stand up to use.

It is important for the believer to continually be evaluating their feelings in light of the truth of the Bible. When we find ourselves leaning into our feelings, in the process violating the principles of Scripture to indulge feelings, then we need to repent and begin again to obey Christ.

2 Timothy 2:15
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."

No one can find even one verse in the Scriptures that says "follow your feelings", every passage is filled with instruction to obey the commands of God, to evaluate everything on the basis of truth.

Of course it makes sense that a wicked and rebellious generation would make feelings the focus in defiance of God.

John 17:17
"Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth."

2 Corinthians 4:4
"In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

Those who say "follow your feelings" are speaking against the Word of God. Our flesh is deeply invested in feelings, while the Spirit of Christ in us evaluates truth. We must fight the flesh, we must fight the temptation to allow our feelings to guide us or even motivate our actions.

When a believer is continually messing up, having to continually say "sorry" to others, they are probably indulging their feelings.