Extremes

When I was growing up I always admired Star Trek's Mr. Spock. I liked the way he was as strong as four men, the smartest guy in the room, and total master of his emotions. For a time I even thought he had the emotion thing right: just let cool reason bury them deep down where no one will ever find them-not even myself.

But I quickly learned that life without emotion is flat and boring. Imagine a stadium full of Vulcans watching a football game: no whooping and hollering-just the low buzz of people analyzing the last play and calculating the odds of an onside kick. Or how about sitting in a baseball stadium as the home team wins on a walk-off homerun-and the only emotional betrayal is the raising of one eyebrow. Emotions are what give life its zest and spice.

For football fans it was an exciting kick-off weekend for the NFL. There were some intriguing games with big surprises. There were also some great games where the lead changed back and forth, keeping fans on the edge of their seats.

But Spock was certainly right about one thing: emotions can easily go to extremes. If the Monday morning comments were to be believed, 16 teams are on the fast track to next year's Super Bowl (am I allowed to use that word without express permission from the NFL?), and 16 others should throw in the towel and pull for the top draft choice.

What will happen to those same fans when next weekend rolls around? How many hopes will be dashed? How many fans who are inconsolable today will be boasting about their team's fortunes after victories next weekend?

These emotional roller-coaster rides aren't only confined to sports. They extend to our relationships, our finances, our health, and nearly every other situation in life.

Many experiences and situations in life push us to emotional extremes, worry and fretting one moment, ecstatically triumphant the next. We end up insufferably proud, or intolerably gloomy.

Coaches try to teach their athletes to keep emotions in check, to not let a fast start cause them to take the opponent for granted, or let a bad one fill them with despair.

What effect do you think our emotional reactions have on our Christian witness? How can the quiet confidence of faith through Jesus' victory empower us to deliver a strong witness even when times are really bad and everything seems to be going against us?

Do you have any advice on how to keep your emotions in a healthy balance, so we can live in the peaceful, humble, confident and joyful attitude Jesus had?

In this world there's much to unsettle our faith and the confidence we know we have in Christ. How do we maintain the assurance of the victory God gives us, in the face of shifting moods and changing circumstances?

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