Your Feelings Lie...

I have been talking to several youth lately who are dealing with lots of "feelings." Some of them are battling with heartbreak over a relationship that didn't work out, some are dealing with pain from long ago, some are smitten with love, some are furious with rage, and some are just trying to figure out what they are feeling. One thing they have all had in common is this phrase, "I feel _____, but I don't know why."

This happens to almost all of us. I have a friend who asked for prayer for one of these moments of "feelings." There was a lot of wisdom in his words. Here's how our conversation went:

Him: "Hey man, could you pray for me? I feel really depressed."
Me: "Sure, everything ok?"
Him: "Yeah, this happens sometimes. I feel really down, but I know that if I just press through it in a few days it will be better. Just stinks while I'm going through it."

I think this stems from the fact that we are all "broken." Since Adam and Eve first sinned against God, we as a people have been messed up. Our "feelings" are messed up along with that. In fact, they flat out lie to us sometimes. We can be having a great day and suddenly we feel sad or discouraged. There could be no reason for it. God knows this about us and warned against it in Jeremiah 17:9-10:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. 

Now, I know this may sound harsh or simple, but it really is one of the best solutions to "feeling bad" for no reason. Keep going. Keep doing what is right. Keep going. Pray to God for strength, ask friends to help, but just keep going. Your feelings can lie. They can tell you everything is falling apart when it isn't. Keep going. It will get better. And if you are trusting in Jesus, it will all be ok.

In Christ,
jon walton
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Selfless...

Have you ever been around someone who is extremely selfish? You know the kind of person I mean. The kind of person who only cares about their own wants, needs, desires, problems, and life. The kind of person who always puts themself before others. When you come in contact with a person like that what is your response? Do you just want to get away from them? Do you want to set them straight? Do you feel sorry for them?

What about you, are you selfish or selfless? We all have selfish tendencies that we fight against I think, but what wins over in your life most of the time? Look at these statements and see which you lean more toward:
If being selfish means you think you are better than others, then being selfless means you consider others before yourself.
If being selfish means you think your problems are more important than others problems, then being selfless means you attend to others problems before your own. (within reason)
If being selfish means you think what you want is more important than what others want, or even need, then being selfless means you consider how your actions will affect others.
If being selfish means you put yourself first, then being selfless means you put yourself last.

Jesus Christ gave us the perfect example of being selfless and Paul later emphisied it in his letter to the Philippians.

Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not [only] for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross. - Philippians 2:1-8

Being selfless is difficult, but not impossible. It is possible through the direction and guidance of Jesus Christ and by drawing on Him for the strength to do it.

In Christ,
jon walton

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