“The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action while reason leads to conclusions.” -Donald Calne
Emotion- an affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow,fear, hate, or the like, is experienced
Reason- the mental powers concerned with forming conclusions,judgments, or inferences
What motivates you in life? Do you act off of emotion or reason? I recently had this discussion with a group of people and I have also been experiencing quite a few things in my life that has caused me to sit down and think about what motivates me. Naturally, as a human being, we act based on what we feel. We often say things like “this doesn’t feel right” or even “it just felt right.” We often make decisions based on what we feel, but is that the right thing to do?
How often do we say things or do things we later regret? Emotions are very powerful and can either make or break you. We often go with what we feel, rather than what we know. When it comes to reason, we do not like thinking about the consequences. We act off of instinct and think about the effects later. We can’t always make decisions based on how we feel. Fear is a powerful feeling and if we lived our lives in fear, what would we accomplish? Who would we be? Sometimes the heart lies to us and causes us to make decisions that we would not normally make if we reasoned.
Acting off of instinct can be dangerous. Yes, life is about taking risks, but imagine what your life would be like if all you did was take risks based off of feelings. In this day in age, we need to be informed to make the best decision. I’m not saying that when you reason everything will be perfect, I can’t make that statement because somethings in life are truly unpredictable. What I am saying is when making major decisions like who to enter a relationship with, what career path to follow, or what to do about your finances, those decisions should not be made based solely on your emotions. When you get that feeling in your heart or your gut, you know you should stop and think. Too often we act then we stop and think about our actions, but that is backwards. If you think about your situation, try to gain as much knowledge as possible on what you are about to decide, because this decision can be life changing. We need to think before we act, rather than acting before we think.
Feelings and emotions are temporary and can change instantly. I can’t even count (well maybe I can lol) how many times I felt a connection with a guy and people immediately wanted me to be in a relationship him. I thank God for discernment because I have been saved from a lot of heartache.
In order to make informed decisions you have to reason and look at the possible outcomes. So my prayer for us all is to become spiritual discerners. Learn what God has planned for you and seek his wisdom to help you make a decision that can possibly change your life. I’m not talking about asking God what you should wear to work or have for dinner, but ask God for guidance. One decision can take you on a path that God never intended.
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