Emotion Versus Foundation

Locker Room Pep Talks

If you’ve ever played a sport or watched a sports movie, you’ve seen the locker room pep talk. The coach riles the team up, gives them an encouraging speech, then they go out and win the game! That’s how it works, right?

I had two experiences of the locker room pep talk while I was in school sports. The first was when I wrestled in middle school. We were at the final tournament of the season and we were in a position where the next matches would either put our school in the running for winning the whole thing, or they would knock us out. In the locker room, Coach reminded us of the work we put in during the season, and he told us we weren’t living up to our potential on the mat, but it was in our hands to change it and we had the ability to do so. We went out, won our matches, and took first place as a school in the tournament with several first place wins in individual weight classes. It was the perfect movie ending.

The second experience was when I played soccer in high school. My senior year we were playing away at one of the best schools in our area. It was their senior night, where all the parents come out on the field with their graduating seniors beforehand and families are there to watch, so we knew the stands would be full and the pressure would be on. Before the game, the team captains got the team pumped up! We screamed out chants from our school pep-rallies and we said this was going to be the time the underdogs came out and won it. The atmosphere in the locker room was electric, and every guy was hyped for the game. We went out and took the field, and we lost 0-6. We got completely annihilated.

What was the difference between the first experience and the second? Why did we win the first time and get crushed the second time?

Emotion Versus Foundation

The difference was that in the first scenario, my team actually had the understanding and the ability to go out and win. We trained well, we had the skill, and we had won many matches against these same schools during the season. We just needed to put action to the foundation we already built. In the second scenario we had none of that. We were less skilled, many on our team lacked some of the most fundamental soccer skills, and we had only won one game the entire season. In both instances we used emotion to set the stage for what we wanted to happen, but in only one instance did we have a solid foundation upon which that emotion could be built. And without that foundation, the emotion doesn’t actually get you anywhere.

I’ve found that sometimes we can be the same way in our faith. We can go to a good worship service, a good conference, or a good camp and get really excited about God. Instead of being at halftime and hearing a speech about winning, we’re in a worship setting and we’re hearing that God wants to get us out of that abusive relationship, or that He wants to free us of that addiction, or He wants to prosper us. We get excited! We can get out of this tight spot and walk into victory! But, just like with my soccer game, that emotion can come crumbling down when there’s no foundation underneath it.

When we take any step in faith – when we try to obey God and leave that relationship, or check into rehab, or steward our finances well, for instance – there will always be opposition. People will talk, or maybe try worse than talking. Our brains and bodies will rebel. There will be plenty of opportunity to get off track. Life isn’t easy, and living life in line with God’s standard definitely isn’t easy when we’re living alongside people who think God’s standard is absolute nonsense. If our decision to take that step of faith is based solely on emotion, the moment that good emotion fades we’re going to be stuck in a tough place. And – spoiler alert – the good emotion doesn’t usually stick around when you’re facing opposition from your friends, from yourself, and from the culture around you.

Emotion isn’t bad, but it can’t be the foundation. There has to be something more.

So, What Is The Foundation?

The foundation has to be an active relationship with God. We have to be grounded in Scripture, we have to be grounded in prayer, and we have to be grounded in community with Jesus followers who have our best interest in mind.

Scripture:

Scripture is God’s revelation to us of His character and of His general will. We see in scripture the lengths He goes to for our salvation and for our betterment. We see that He won’t give up on us. We see that He expects obedience from us as well. We see that to love Him means to keep His commands. Scripture teaches us and guides us. When hype goes stale, the foundation of Scripture reminds us who God is, what He says about us, and what He expects from us.

Prayer:

Prayer is our communion with God. It is a time for us to pour out our thoughts and concerns, a time for us to make requests and intercessions, and a time for us to receive specific revelation from God. The Bible can’t tell you which company to take the job with, which school to go to, or whether or not to date that person. God can. When the excitement about a new step or a new direction fades into uncertainty, prayer can bring clarity, assurance, and wisdom.

Community:

God never intended us to live alone. Adam was incomplete without Eve. In the garden of Gethsemane, even Jesus sought solace in the company of friends and was dismayed when they left him to carry his load alone. When the emotional high gives way to uncertainty, community provides you with Godly counsel, friends who will pray for you, people with experience who can give you wisdom, friends who will celebrate your victories and share the load in your defeats.

I am not against emotions. I’m not against getting excited or getting hyped up. God gave us emotions, and they’re incredible. But faith won’t last if it’s built on nothing but excitement. Eventually life will throw something at you that isn’t very exciting, and you’re going to need something that can be strong when everything else in life is crumbling. God is that strong. So let’s build our foundation on Him.