Townes Van Zandt. Maybe you’ve heard of him, though I’ll take the odds that you have not. He was a member of the somewhat underground singer-songwriter niche of 70’s country music, void of the glitzy distraction and out of the limelight. But these guys were legit. Their songs were simple musically as if recorded during a casual jam between friends at a dinner party, but their lyrics were powerful. That’s why I bring up Townes Van Zandt. The guy could write anybody away— his songs as somber as somber itself.
In a way, I’ve always romanticized sad songs; their sorrow and their ability to make one feel deep emotions. Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to singers like Townes Van Zandt. I could try to speculate why, to me, sadness seems appealing at times, but I’ll save you all from this introspection. However, I know that I have an inclination to “use” that feeling, and I need to be careful with it.
Why? Because what one thinks is important. Plenty of neurological studies have concluded that thoughts do have an impact on our behavior and psyche. I believe a lot of us have experienced this. More importantly, the bible says guarding our thoughts is important. Colossians 3 teaches us that we, who are raised, must have our minds set on Jesus: “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Philippians provides a more specific example:
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Philippians 4:8
Now, we know from scripture that emotion isn’t inherently bad. Sadness, anger, and even fear have their place in the lives of believers. We see plentiful examples in Psalms, Lamentations, Job, and Jeremiah to name a few. A “happy” person doesn’t say as Jeremiah did in chapter 20 verses 14-18 and we are told that God is close to those in despair.
Nevertheless, the Bible distinguishes a difference between “worldly” and “godly” emotions. In 2nd Corinthians, Paul writes of how his first letter grieved the recipients, and Paul regretted this until learning that this grieving produced repentance. He then writes:
“As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”
2 Corinthians 7:9-10
And so the distinction between worldly and godly emotions is drawn. If “worldly grief” (or emotion) produces death and we know that sin produces death, what can we say about worldly emotions? That is not focused on the life-giving power of Jesus— it distracts us from the truth. On the other hand, godly emotions actually draw us toward God via repentance, worship, etc.
We live in a culture that places a lot of value on emotions. Admittedly, this has led to some good outcomes. However, the consequence of an emotionally-obsessed world is that every feeling is validated, and when emotions rule, subjectivism arises and authority is misplaced.
When someone is justified because they feel angry, or praised because they sing pitifully sad songs, there is a problem. Treating every emotion as truth is dangerous. I don’t mean by this that your feelings aren’t real or reveal some truth about how you are doing at that moment. Rather, when our emotions become our truth, when they have authority over our lives, then we are messing with some potent philosophy.
What I am trying to say is that our emotions cannot merit authority over our life because that authority belongs to God and God alone. Consequently, our commitment to God cannot be conditional, varying with how we feel. Are you, in your sadness, compromising God’s character? Are you choosing hopelessness over the promises of God? Choosing worldly anger or retribution over surrendering justice to Christ which leads to our own grace and mercy? Choosing not to praise God because of your situation? Choosing not to believe in the promises and who God says I am? Are you spending less time with God because you aren’t exactly bursting with the Joy of the Lord? I’ve answered “yes” to all these questions at one time or another.
It’s tempting to entertain worldly emotions, thoughts, bad theology, or limit our time spent with God just because we are not “feeling it." I admit that I indulge in unfruitful emotions often because worldly anger/sadness is easier, or because if I victimize myself enough, then I feel removed from the responsibility over my current state of being. I need to understand that the heart is deceitful. Jeremiah 17 says:
“The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
‘I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.’ ”
Jeremiah 17:9-10
We must recognize the brokenness of our condition, and how that affects the emotions and desires of the heart, and ask God for understanding and searching of our hearts to correct ourselves from going astray despite our volatility. In a grand view of things, it seems silly to slight God of his deserving praise because our day has been crappy or because it’s easier to indulge in certain emotions.
Paul instructs us to keep a God-centered mindset. That what we think and what we act should be true, honorable, pure, and all those other adjectives listed in Philippians 4:8. And when we are inevitably troubled:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:4-7
We are instructed to rejoice in the Lord, be reasonable, know God’s in control, not give over to anxiousness, but to pray with thankfulness and then we will discover peace. This is a declaration of God’s sovereignty over circumstances and emotions too.
I love it when David writes an emotional Psalm of trials and pain, but he ends the Psalm with a declaration of who God is and his promises (ex. Psalms 79). I don’t know about you, but when I compare the worries of my life with David’s, they feel pretty insignificant, and if any of us has the right to complain, it would be him. However, he finishes with a mindset centered on God. So, let us do the same in the turbulence of our emotions. Let our thoughts and praises return to God, and our triumph over these emotions act as a sacrifice of worship for the true sovereign God.
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