I read a very interesting article in the February 28 edition of the Sydney Morning Herald. It was about the way we make decisions. In it, the writer argued that traditionally we have thought that emotions get in the way of making right decisions, but now there is clinical evidence that indicates emotions are crucial in decision making.
The article narrates the story of a man who, because of a brain tumour, lost all ability to have emotions. This caused him to become a "dispassionate, uninvolved spectator".
The man's neurologist concluded that: "cut off from our feelings, the most banal decisions become impossible. A brain that can't feel can't make up its mind".
At this moment, no one knows whether this hypothesis is correct, and I am not even sure if the reporting is accurate or complete, but it did make me think again about emotions and how Christians should respond to them.
The English Reformers understood the truth of this argument, not from science but by observation and reflection on Scripture.
Their catchphrase was "what the heart desires, the will chooses and the mind justifies". They saw that our decisions had their genesis in emotions.
Later reformers, rightly I think, argued that our passions either incline us toward God and obedience to him, or disincline toward these things.
The work of the Spirit, in part, is to transform our passions to be inclined toward God, and that will incline our wills toward our Lord. It seems this is part of what Paul is on about in Romans 12 about being transformed by the renewal of our minds.
Where does that leave us?
Along with the author of the article we need to consider our emotions/passions as part of the growth toward maturity and right thinking and action.
Among other things, in our ministry to each other we will recognise that many decisions pre-exist in an embryonic sense - even before they are made - because the heart and will are inclined in a certain direction. This means that we should not under-estimate the effect of the godly example of others that will shape the way we think about things. It will not under-estimate the effect of reminding people from the Scriptures what God has done for us in Christ, and what he will yet do as we proceed toward glory. That will change our emotions and passions in a way that inclines our wills toward God and away from the idols that present themselves to us every day.
As I said, I am not sure whether the facts behind the Herald article has any scientific credibility, but I know that part of the way we minister to one another must be to help lay down passions inclined toward God, and this is so often achieved by the drip method over time.
