Ever heard of William James?
He was a brilliant and trailblazing psychologist who revolutionized the field with ONE theory.
He proved that it’s our behavior that determines our emotions…
And NOT the opposite way around.
There’s only one little problem with James’ theory…
He didn’t invent it.
The Scriptures already knew what James “discovered”.
In fact, the instructions Samuel gave to Israel thousands of years earlier were based on this principle.
Recall yesterday I talked about how the people of Israel were beginning to feel distance between them and God.
On the inside, they could sense they were separated from God.
They had this longing for the Lord…
And a feeling in their gut that things weren’t quite right.
They couldn’t articulate what the problem was…
But they knew something was wrong.
In response, Samuel arrived on the scene and told them…
“If you are returning to Adonai
with all your heart, then be done with
the foreign gods and ‘ashtarot
that you have with you, and direct
your hearts to Adonai. If you will
serve only him, he will rescue
you from the power of the P’lishtim.”
-1 Samuel 7:3-4
Notice Samuel’s response.
He’s telling the people if they want to restore their relationship with the Lord, then they have to take both physical and mental action.
Now I’ve got a little assignment for you here…
Go to verse 3 in your Bibles where it says “if with all your HEART”…
Now take a pen and cross out the word “heart”…
Then, in its place, write the word “mind”.
After you do that, those verses should read like this:
“If you are returning to Adonai
with all your mind, then be done with
the foreign gods and ‘ashtarot
that you have with you, and direct
your hearts to Adonai. If you will
serve only him, he will rescue
you from the power of the P’lishtim.”
-1 Samuel 7:3-4
Why am I asking you to do this?
Because in Biblical times, the heart was the organ that was considered to the center of rational and conscious thinking processes.
And when I say Biblical times, I’m talking about BOTH the Old and New Testament era.
That’s right homies.
From a functional perspective, the heart was seen as how we view the brain today.
It was only due to Greek and Roman philosophy that the heart came to be associated with our emotions or feelings.
Ya feel me here?
In the Scriptures, the heart has absolutely NOTHING to do with our emotions.
It means mind…period.
So what we see in 1 Samuel 7 is that the people were NAHA AHARE…
They possessed an emotional longing for God…
They desired the SHALOM that only a relationship with the Lord can bring.
But they didn’t know what to do with that emotion.
Samuel was telling them if they wanted to fulfill their emotional desires…
They had to move beyond their emotions…
And take ACTION.
Once they did that, then their emotions, mind and behavior would cooperate in harmony with each other.
In fact, that’s the only way to really move forward.
So what was the action the people were to take?
They had to do away with all of the foreign god idols and pagan temples that were in their midst…
Regardless of their emotions…
And regardless of their feelings.
That really is the difference between a child and an adult…
Or the difference between the undisciplined and the disciplined…
When Samuel told the people to return to the Lord with all of their mind…
He was really exhorting them to exercise their willpower OVER and BEYOND their emotions.
And that’s your takeaway for today.
Don’t just wait around until you feel like it…
Or let your emotions dictate your behavior…
That’s why the vast majority of pathetic mankind quits their New Year’s resolutions before February even comes around.
“I really feel like eating that whole bag of frosted corn flakes”…
There goes your balanced diet right out the window.
“I really feel like going on a half day porno binge”….
There goes your commitment to your wife and sexual purity right out the window.
“I really feel like secretly watching YouTube videos all day at work”…
Their goes your productivity and chances of getting promoted right out the window.
In fact, I’m willing to bet that pretty much every failure in life, including those who lose their faith, is due to letting one’s emotions get the better of them.
And conversely, I’m willing to bet every success in life is due to one taking action IN SPITE of one’s emotions.
“I don’t feel like doing that today”.
Or
“I’m not in the mood right now”.
Those expressions are behind more failures than you can possibly imagine.
So do what Samuel urged the children of Israel to do…
Return to Adonai with all of your MIND…
And don’t be derailed by your emotions.
When you do that, you’ll experience REAL progress in your life.
And the emotions of pride and accomplishment that follow afterwards will make you feel great.
Over and out homies.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Yeshua replied:
’Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and
with all your soul and
with all your mind.’”
-Matthew 22:37
“Then we will no longer be infants,
tossed back and forth by the waves,
and blown here and there by
every wind of teaching and
by the cunning and craftiness of
people in their deceitful scheming.”
-Ephesians 4:14
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