Emotions

Emotions can be good, especially when they are attached to one's interest in the well-being of others.

It is also insightful to keep in mind that one's emotional states can be developed and are not unchangeable.

In rediscovering Christianity in today's age, new converts will ask what the proper role of emotions is for living a Christian life. Consider two different people in separate contexts. One person is filled with emotion watching a romantic movie, but then later he neither feels nor tries to feel emotion upon hearing that an elderly relative has been hospitalized after a fall. Another person, however, is filled with joy at hearing the good news of a friend who has recovered from depression.

Emotion can be good. However, if it is mainly experienced superficially and rarely attached to better purposes, that falls outside of what a Christian should aim for. Feelings of happiness can be attached to silliness at times, and that can be good as long as emotion is also felt in serious matters affecting the well-being of others.

It is also insightful to keep in mind that one's emotional states can be developed and are not unchangeable. A person may not necessarily feel emotion for someone else in a certain context until they purposely try to learn more about what that person is experiencing. A person's sense of empathy can be developed, and it should be to more fully embrace a human experience that values the experiences and worth of other people.