Feelings often drive us to choose what to do. Tolstoy observed this 100 years ago in the Russian upper class where they were consumed by ‘pointless activity’, Tolstoy relates to it like this: “My life came to a standstill. I could breathe, eat, drink, and sleep, and I could not help doing these things; but there was no life, for there were no wishes the fulfillment of which I could consider reasonable”. Tolstoy continues, “Had a fairy come and offered to fulfill my desires, I should not have known what to ask.” Later he became involved in the life of the Russian peasants, and though they were very different, they were all alike in that they “…knew the meaning of life and death, labored quietly, endured deprivations and sufferings, and lived and died seeing therein not vanity but good”. These peasants were not yet consumed by the modern age, as the wealthy, upper-class Russians were. The result was that the peasants knew what was good to do without regard to their feelings.1
I’m not saying we have to live like Russian peasants, but Jesus does say that the meek and poor in spirit and those who mourn are blessed. Whereas the affluent nature of the world (in the West especially) today makes the love of money all too easy, which is the root of all kinds of evil. We are victims of our own success, the increase in wealth has lead to more options and therefore more decisions to be made. People are overwhelmed with decisions. We have a finite capacity for decision-making each day (this has been scientifically proven). When we exceed that capacity we become governed by feelings and will often not know the difference between our feelings and our own will. Among this confusion people will often mistake feelings for reasons, which leads to a lack of self-control, which leads to lives that drift through the days and years with no fruits produced for the kingdom of God.
This is where religion and relying on God comes in. Worldly people call it a crutch, but it’s actually what helps anchor us and give us a sense of direction as well as strength and inner freedom, even in the midst of great suffering and frustration.2 We need this sense of direction when we exceed our capacity to make decisions. As Philipians 4:13 tells us, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’
The heart is the source of all kinds of evil and misleading desires as stated in Mark 7:21-22. We can’t rely on our feelings to determine how to act. Our actions often mirror what is in our hearts. This is why Jesus focuses so heavily on the condition of our hearts. We must fix our hearts first, just as Jesus taught repeatedly in the Sermon on the Mount. Then good actions and speech will flow out from us and it will be the “right actions” done for the “right reasons”, rather than for selfish intent or vain conceit. In other words — “God is more concerned with our character than our comfort.”
We have to make the right choices, but in order to do that, we can’t rely on our feelings to figure out the right thing to do. We have to carry out God’s commands here on earth so we can show others what life in the kingdom of God is like. This has multiple benefits, including winning new souls to Christ by showing His love to them. Just as He showed His love for us when He laid down His life for us.