Our emotions are such a powerful part of us, but they need to know their place in our lives.

Sure, a world with little or no emotion would be a world without crying, sadness and loneliness, but it would also be a world with no joy, happiness and laughter. 

Our emotions are essential. Imagine going to a sporting event where no one cheered, no one shouted. Instead, people just watched randomly, talking amongst themselves in the stands. There would only be a constant low level noise, the sound you might hear when you get close to a bee hive. 

Or think of going to the movies and watching a new blockbuster show that starred most of Hollywood, and the highest paid actors at that. There would be silence in the theatre, no “oohs”, no sighs, no laughter, just blank faces staring at the changing colours and intensities of light emanating from the screen. 

To be honest, without emotion there would not be sports to watch or movies to go to. No one would be passionate enough to do them.

But emotions have their place and they need to stay in their place.

When we exalt our emotions to have greater influence on us than they should, it is as harmful to our lives as no emotion would be.

In the past we have designated our emotions to be subservient to our thought process. Our thinking, the use of our mind, has always just been tempered by our emotions. 

Our society has been driven by facts and reasoning and order and good judgement.

But over the last years, we have been moving from a society that is guided by mindful understanding to one that is lead more by emotional responses. Now our mind, our thinking, takes a back seat to our emotions when making decisions and determining actions. 

Case in point, this week the chief medical officer for Kingston announced that everyone had to wear a mask when inside a public space: grocery stores, convenient stores, malls, halls and churches. 

The reason for this was based on one manicure shop in Kingston. There was a breakout of 18 COVID cases from this shop. The shop had broken cleanliness rules, distancing rules, and probably a few other rules as well. 

People got the virus in an overcrowded establishment where people are kept stationary in close quarters for extended periods of time. 

The logical thing to do was to treat the sick, trace the source and reaffirm commitment to proper social distancing and hand washing, etc. 

But that was not what happened. Our medical officer took the emotional approach. 

Now it doesn’t matter what the conditions are, if you are inside a public building you have to wear a mask. There might be two of you, thirty feet from each other, but you have to wear a mask. Your business could have signs and space and sanitizers available – you still need a mask.

Wearing a mask will not ensure safety to those who are already practicing proper distancing and cleanliness. It’s an emotional decision and I’m concerned that this is becoming a trend. 

Here’s the thing: There is a belief by many that faith is nothing more than an emotional decision, that it is a comfort to believe in a god. But the truth is that faith is a mindful decision that is tempered by emotion. I first believed in God because the compelling evidence in the Bible, science and nature made sense to me. Then when I got to know God more, my emotions were drawn to Him. True faith has the right combination of thought tempered by emotion. Be sure to keep emotion in its rightful place. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When has an emotional response got you into trouble? Leave your questions and comments below.

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