The Mind and the Emotions

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is yours spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2

We live in a world where there is a lot of emphasis placed on one's emotions or feelings. The maxim of life seems to be, "If it feels good, do it!" Movies portray love as more of a feeling than a commitment; divorces are on the rise. More and more people are having pre-marital sex or extra-marital affairs because they feel good. People everywhere are spending more on material possessions and expensive vacations to feel good. Whether something is morally right or not is not as important as how it makes us feel. Hedonism- the pursuit of pleasure- has become an art. The famous atheist philosopher Bertrand Russel once responded to a question about how he would judge whether something was morally right or not, "On the basis of how I feel, how else?"

We see a similar phenomenon in today's Church, where spirituality seems be judged more by how close we "feel" to God than anything else. The emphasis is on large services with elaborate bands and powerful, heart-stirring music so that the congregation may be caught up in the feeling of worship. If you don't feel close to God, then you are not worshipping. If you don't "feel" the peace of God in your heart, something is wrong.

But in the Bible verse above, the Apostle Paul states the way to discovering God's will is not through the emotions, but through the "renewing of your mind". Why does he say this?

Our spiritual lives, and our lives in general, need an anchor. And it would be great folly to make that anchor our emotions. The emotions are volatile and notoriously fickle. One moment I can be praising God with happiness overflowing and dedicating myself to him; the next moment I can find my emotions being seduced by some worldly desire. One moment I may be feeling so thankful about His love; the next moment I may be filled with anger against someone for hurting me. Emotions rise and fall like the waves of the sea, tossed by the winds of circumstance.

I know because for a long time I thought that life, and spiritual life, was all about feeling good. In my life I placed a high premium on finding time to "enjoy life" and do things that made me relax and feel good. I went on many travels to find those good feelings. In my spiritual life, in retrospect, many times I was seeking more for the feeling of peace and joy that God gives, rather than God Himself. And as a result of all this my life often went haywire. Emotions would flare over small and silly things; one moment I would find myself exuberant and blissful, and the next moment I'd be grumpy, impatient and downright unhappy.

And another danger is, when we let emotions take over our heart, they don't just stop there- they take over our mind as well. Our feelings have a way of finding their way to our minds and convincing them that what we want to do is what we ought to do. We are all too familiar with this. We want badly to do something, so our minds start to connive reasons to justify our actions, sometimes even under the pretense of righteousness or wisdom. Dig deep and we find the root often lies in our emotions.

So now we can appreciate why Paul makes no reference to the emotions, but instead talks about the mind. What is the mind? Well to put it simply it is the part of us that is able to think, read, process, imagine and reflect. Of all Creation, humans are the only creatures made in the image of God, which means that our minds are made in the image of the Mind of God. But since the Fall our minds have been alienated from Him, so that the things that we think about are no longer the things of God. "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Cor 2:14)

And so, our minds desperately need renewal. Our minds need to return and connect to the Mind that conceived and created us all. How do we do this? It would take way too long to discuss fully what is required, but in one word it is this- discipline. The discipline to spend time reading and meditating on God's word, reading good solid Christian books, listening to godly speakers. The discipline of quiet reflection and submission, allowing the Word and Truth of God to permeate our minds and transform our world views and perspectives. The discipline of "bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." (2 Cor 10:5)

The emotions do not like discipline. They like to run free like wild horses, unbridled, unhindered. But we need to make a willful effort to submit our emotions to God, and persevere in spite of them. If we do not control them, they will control us. The wonderful thing is, as our mind begins to be transformed and renewed by the truth of God, our emotions start to follow suit. The truths in our minds begin to stir the emotions in our heart, so that our emotions now become God-centred. It is a great and wonderful thing! From the head to the heart, not the other way around.

Try it! I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

"For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?
But we have the mind of Christ." 1 Cor 2:16


**A good book I would recommend that talks about the discipline of the mind (and many other disciplines) is Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.

This morning I was reading and meditating on Matthew 1 and 2. The story of the Virgin birth, and how the wise men from the East travelled far and wide to see the Christ-child. When they did, they fell on their knees, worshipped Him and gave Him their precious gifts of gold, myyrh and frankincense.

And I thought to myself, what would I do if Jesus walked into my room that very instant? Fall down and worship... what would I say? What gifts of mine would I give Him?

And then it dawned on me that Jesus is with me every moment of the day! "Immanuel- God with us." (Matt 1:23). He is not here physically, but He is in our hearts. The Holy Spirit is with us. We are told in the Word that we are temples of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, the Temple in Jerusalem was where the presence of God resided, in the Holy of Holies. Now the veil has been torn away, and God resides in our hearts. Isn't that amazing? Our constant Rock, our constant Help in time of need.

And at the same time, isn't that deeply sobering? Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, God is there beside us and inside us, watching. Sleeping, waking, eating, working, playing, driving, thinking, talking, worshipping in Church... He sees it all. Should that not transform the way we live? Should not our every action, our every word, our every thought, be an act of worship to Him? There is no sacred-secular divide. There is no public-private divide. We are His living temples, and every moment we should be worshipping.

We do not live at a distance from God, only drawing near on Sundays, and then returning to the "outside world". We live constantly in His presence, He with us and in us. And therefore, every moment can be a moment of sweet conversation with Him."Rejoice always, pray without ceasing" 1 Thess. 5:16-17. Every task, no matter how small or trivial, can be done as an act of love to Him. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Col 3:23-24. As Brother Lawrence said, "we ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed."

May this transform the way we live our lives!

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Romans 12:1-2

Just returned from a 2 month medical elective in Nepal, spent 6 weeks at a rural mission hospital in a small town called Tansen.

Nepal is an amazingly beautiful country, a testament to the wonder of God's marvellous creation. The mighty snow-capped Himalaya, deep valleys, lush forests and raging rivers bear witness to our awesome Creator. And yet it is also a very poor and underdeveloped country, still reeling from the ravages of 10 years of civil war and struggling under an ineffectual government very much in its infancy. The very nature of the terrain makes transport and development difficult. Most of the people live hard lives as farmers; even those who have studied through college and university find it difficult to find jobs. Many are forced to work overseas in India and other countries. Schools have poor facilities and undedicated teachers who worry more about money than about their students. Corruption is rampant.

It is also the world's only Hindu state, where proselytising is illegal. Officially about 70% of the population is Hindu.

Tansen Mission Hospital was established in 1953 by the United Mission to Nepal. Today it is a tertiary hospital that sees many patients from the Western area of Nepal and adjacent India. It is a hospital for the poor- many patients are unable to afford the hospital fees and hence receive financial help from the Social Services. No patient is ever turned away because of lack of money, unlike most other hospitals in Nepal.

One of the greatest lessons I learnt there was the impact that Christ's love can have on the people. I remember particularly one Nepali brother I met. He had grown up under tough circumstances, his father being an alcoholic (which is a very widespread problem in Nepal). But after he came to Christ, his whole life was transformed. He recalled being a teacher in a rural school, which was very poorly equipped and in a bad state. While most of the other teachers around him were doing it just for the money, he determined to do all he could to help his students. He agonized to the point of tears before the Lord. Before long, his school had won an award for the best school in the district. Today he works in a local fellowship reaching out to his countrymen. This man was a real man of God, one who radiates Christ everywhere he goes.

Another man I met, a retired Indian Army soldier, had been an alcoholic almost all his life. But when he turned to Christ, his alcoholism stopped. A Nepali doctor in the hospital, himself saved from the brink of death from disease by a miracle from God, now serving his countrymen passionately when he could be working overseas for a lot more money. There are many of such stories. In a world where many profess to believe in Christ, but their lives show no sign of it- Bonhoeffer's concept of "cheap grace"- such living examples of discipleship and transformation were inspiring and refreshing.

St. Francis once said, "Preach the Gospel. Use words if necessary." 50 years ago, when the first 2 missionaries came to Tansen, they were the only Christians there. The hill where the hospital stands today was a barren wasteland, used for cremating dead bodies. Because of the work of the hospital, today there are 2 thriving churches in Tansen, and many daughter churches around. The hospital does not just treat patients, but reaches out to poor villages around the area, helping to transform them in areas of health, sanitation and work. It runs a nutrition centre that helps severly malnourished children and their parents. As the Bible says, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Matt 5:14-16

God's love and light shines through those who are willing to be used by Him, to those who need to receive it. Nepal needs the love of Christ. To a Hindu believer; life is a never-ending cycle of birth and rebirth. Your life now is determined not by your actions, but what has happened in your previous life (karma). There is much despair. But those who believe in Christ both present and future hope, indeed an eternal hope. And our actions in this life, by the grace of God, can touch and impact many around us in beautiful ways.

If you feel a burden for Nepal, do join us in praying for this country. It needs a good, upright government that works for the good of its people; it needs much prayer. If you would like to find out more about the hospital or contribute to their work, you can visit their website at http://www.tansenhospital.org.np/main.htm. I'd love to share more with you about our experiences there if you are interested.