Emotions are subjective indicators of objective experience. For example, if you are hiking through the woods and you come across what you believe to be a snake in the path ahead of you, you will respond emotionally to that belief. You may experience fear and stop in your tracks or quickly retreat. Whatever your response, it’s rooted in how you interpret what you’re observing with your senses.

 Imagine that as you step back, you look a little more closely and realize that the “snake” is in fact only a rope lying in the path. You interpreted it as a snake, and then your emotions, followed by your body, reacted to what you thought you saw. It didn’t matter that the rope lying in the path was no threat at all. Perception was reality. You believed it to be true. You misinterpreted the rope as being dangerous, and you automatically reacted consistently with that perception. How could you as an individual better interpret what’s happening in your world in light of the truth of scripture? How can we as citizens better interpret, in the light of truth, what is happening in our country right now? 

It is worth thinking about!