Just because it feels good, don’t do it

The saying became famous in the 60’s and 70’s – “If it feels good, do it.”  Although we may not hear that exact phrase much anymore, the meaning behind the saying is still very much a part of our culture today.  Our happiness is priority number 1!  It’s all about us and what we want!

However, as we have looked at all week, if you want true biblical transformation in your life, there can be only one source of authority to guide your daily decisions, and that’s the word of God.  Basing our decisions on personal feelings is dangerous and can often be directly opposed to becoming more Christ-like.

Let’s take the above as an example.  Personal feelings often lead us to make decisions based on what satisfies our needs (our happiness), but God’s wants us to take the exact opposite approach.  Philippians 2:3 says “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.”  Wow, what a contrast!  Regard others as more important than me??

That is the exact opposite of what our culture teaches us, but only God in His wisdom knows what is truly best for us.  Let me ask you a question.  What gives you a true sense of gratification – doing something for yourself or doing something for others?  I bet it is the latter.  I know when I put the needs of someone else ahead of mine, I feel very close to God’s heart.  I believe that is how He intended us to live our lives – sacrificially, just like His son Jesus did, but that is often contrary to our personal feelings.

The bible is littered with examples of people who based their decisions in life on skewed personal feelings, only to lead to tragic results.  As long as we have to drag our sinful nature around with us, which won’t end until we get to heaven, we can’t trust our personal feelings to be our guide.  God knows us much better than we know ourselves, so let’s put our trust in Him by relying on His word to be our ultimate authority when making decisions in our life.  The next time you are tempted to do something because it feels good, stop and see what God’s word says.