I heard someone say something this week that really did not sit right with me. They said, “Christianity is an intellectual religion. Christianity is not about emotion. It’s about knowing the law and being obedient.” I was instantly questioning— Is Christianity really just about the mind? Or does God expect our hearts too?
In Matthew 22:37, we are told to ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind’. Notice we have a three part harmony here— heart, soul, and mind. Likewise, we are commanded to worship God in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). We can’t be all spirit or all truth. There is an obvious balance of the two— but never a complete negation of emotion. Our worship to God demands our whole being: intellect, emotion, will, and action. If we cut out any one of these, our worship to God isn’t complete, and therefore, unacceptable to God.
We see emotion perfectly on display from Jesus Himself. Here’s a short list just to get you thinking: John 11:35 (Jesus wept), Matthew 9:36 (Jesus had compassion), Luke 10:21 (Jesus rejoiced), Mark 3:5 (Jesus got righteously angry), Matthew 26:37-38 (Jesus grieved). Our Savior, Jesus Christ, in the flesh, felt deeply. He didn’t meet people with a stoic stature or emotional negligence. He allowed Himself to feel emotion deeply. What does that say about how we should view emotion— Definitely not taboo or the thinking ‘if someone is showing emotion, it must be for attention’. Christ exampled for us how important feeling and displaying emotion is!
The Christian life is deeply emotional— not emotionalism, but real feeling! In Galatians 5:22-23 we are given the Fruits of the Spirit. “… love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. The law is not against these things.” These are experienced emotionally! In Romans 12:15 we are told to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Lets also not forget Psalms, a whole book of raw, emotional prayer!!
Obedience without love is what creates legalism and a legalistic mindset. The Pharisees knew the law better than anyone (and kept it too), but they lacked love and compassion (Matthew 23). In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, we see that without love, all religious acts are worthless. God doesn’t just want rule followers— he wants children who LOVE HIM! He knew we couldn’t follow the law perfectly. Humanity proved that time and time again. That’s why He sent His Son, who lovingly sacrificed Himself to save us from our own detriment.
Emotion without truth leads to chaos, instability, and a feelings based faith. However, Truth without emotion leads to a cold, dead, and lifeless religion. Christianity is about having both the heart and the head engaged. To know God is to love God and to love God is to keep His commandments.
Christianity is a deeply emotional relationship between Father and child. We are called to love Him passionately and love others tenderly. Don’t silence emotion in your walk with God— let it drive you TO HIM, not away from Him.
Prayer for today:
Heavenly Father,
Soften my heart toward You. Help me to love You not just with my mind, but with my whole heart, soul, and strength. Teach me to feel deeply — like Jesus did — and to let my emotions draw me closer to You, not further away.
Guard me from a cold, empty faith that is all head and no heart. But also protect me from emotions without truth. Grow in me a love that is rooted in Your Word and fueled by real relationship. May my life — both in joy and in sorrow — be pleasing to You.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
