Feeling and Thinking
Several years ago, Sherri and I were watching an episode of “The Big Bang Theory” with our spiritual daughter from China, Grace. Grace loved “The Big Bang Theory.” I think one of the reasons (in addition to western humor) was that so many of the words and phrases used in this blockbuster television show aren’t your everyday English.
Anyway, Amy and Leonard are the only ones in Sheldon’s and Leonard’s apartment. Leonard is on his computer playing a video game, while Amy is sitting on the couch reading. Leonard is annoyed because Amy remains in the apartment after all the others have left.
“Whatcha doin’?” he asks. “Reading,” she responds.
Time passes. And the air is thick with Leonard’s annoyance.
He glances at Amy on the sofa. The book she has been reading is laying beside her, and she is staring into space.
“What are you doing now?” he asks. “I’m thinking about what I was reading,” she answers.
Thinking.
I was just doing that this cold, rainy Sunday morning in North Carolina.
I’ll be preaching on Psalm 19 in a couple of hours, and one of the most important things I’ll be sharing with our community of believers at Embrace Church is that the Psalms aren’t meant to be approached from the mind, but rather the heart.
The psalms are poetry. And lest we forget, they were set to music. Most of all, they are deeply personal. So often, the words and feelings of the psalmist reflect our own thoughts and feelings.
Consider this description of poetry by Salvatore Quasimodo, winner of the 1959 Nobel Prize —
“Poetry is the revelation of a feeling that the poet believes to be interior and personal, (but) the reader recognizes as his own.”
Today’s poets are primary songwriters. At least, the most popular poets. I’ll be concluding today’s message with a song by Supertramp, “Lord, Is It Mine.” Great lyrics, Deeply personal. Evoking deep feelings.
As Psalm 42:7 teaches, “Deep calls to deep.”
Jesus taught that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind.
In other words, from the deepest part of our being, with all our emotions and feelings, pouring all we are and all we have into it, and reflecting deeply on the one who reminds us that His thoughts are not our thoughts, His ways are not our ways.” (Isaiah 55:9)
Shallow thinking leads to shallow living. And there is an overabundance of shallow thinking and living in our world today. I’m particularly concerned with the shallow thinking in the church, and shallow thinking among God’s people.
I’m even more concerned with the promotion of this shallow thinking by far too many Bible teachers. Walk this way, talk this way.
I love how Luke describes the Jews in Berea. As they heard Paul teach the Scriptures, they didn’t just accept what was said. No, they examined the Scriptures for themselves. And let’s not forget what Paul said to the believers in Thessalonica when he urged them to test prophecies, to test what their preachers and teachers said.
In other words, don’t blindly accept any teaching, whatever credentials that teacher may possess, whatever gifts he or she demonstrates, however convincing that teacher may sound.
That’s what I’ve been thinking about this morning. But now it’s time to get ready for church. But don’t worry, I’ll be following up in this post because there is a lot more to be said about Jesus’s fourfold approach to loving God.
And let me leave you with this thought — all four of these ways of loving God, heart, soul, strength, and mind — are intimately connected. It takes all four as we learn how to love, hear, and follow God in our lives.
Tomorrow, I’ll be talking about the approach of far too many Christians today whose lives are focused more on following the book (the Bible) than following the God to whom the Bible points us.
In Christ,
Dan
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