Emotional Addictions

“Your heart will follow your head.”

Michael Hindes

Thank goodness…I feel a little relieved that this is the
case.

It makes sense. 
Romans 12 says “You will be transformed by the renewing of your
mind.”  Not the “renewing of your
heart”.  In Ancient Near Eastern
culture (in seminary terms this just means “Biblical times”), the ‘heart’ is
the seat of the emotions, representing how you feel.  Your ‘mind’ then means what you know.

I’ll be honest…I’ve never been able to see this actually
play out in real life.  Just
because I decide not to be cranky in the morning doesn’t mean I won’t FEEL
cranky in the morning.  Just
because I decide not to be annoyed by a situation doesn’t mean I won’t FEEL
annoyed. 

We talk a lot in the World Race about living our lives “unoffendable”.  You know what I’ve concluded?  Living a life where I don’t allow the
people, conversations, situations or environments to offend me is 1) a choice I
do make in my mind – I decide not to be offended and 2) something I might
actually feel but have to figure out if I will be victimized by it or respond
the way I’ve decided to respond.

 

Like most things in life, however, it’s a process … a long
process.

The Romans passage I referenced above I think actually
describes it best.  The Greek tense
could be explained like this: “You will be transformed by the on-going,
perpetual, renewing after renewing of your mind.”

So if I want to start FEELING different, I have to start
THINKING different.  But remember,
how many important things in our lives actually give us the luxury of instant
gratification?  So I have to THINK
different now, and later, and tomorrow. 

My THOUGHTS have to turn into BELIEFS and my beliefs have to
turn into CONVICTIONS.   Only
then will I begin to FEEL different in situations that would have otherwise
incited me to feel otherwise.

You know what THINKING has to change first?  Give up the incessant need to be
right.  I had a talk with my
siblings about this just yesterday: we’re addicted to being right and making
sure everyone involved knows it.  Even
if we are somehow “mature” enough to keep our mouths shut, we sure THINK
it…imagine that…what we’re supposed to do it change the way we think right?

You know what…my “heart really does follow my head”… it does
so because I want it to be that way. 
And more than that, it’s who I want to be.