Real Lies

"The heart is deceitful above all things... Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9).

I would like to expand upon my statement in my last post. I said, "I understand that emotions are dodgy things, and not to be entirely trusted, but they are the only reality we have experienced." First I would like to explain the fallaciousness of our emotions, then I will explain the reality within those same emotions.

I think Jeremiah explains things pretty well. The heart (the poetic seat of our emotions) is a liar. Because of our emotions we perceive things that aren't there. Emotions cause us to concoct grand explanations for behavior: for our own behavior (excuses) and for the behavior of others (gossip or conspiracy theories). Emotions filter our perception of the world, distorting and subverting reality leaving us with either a dream or a nightmare. Emotions cause us to love the imperfect, judge our peers and condemn the innocent. In short, emotions deceive us.

This is not to say that emotions are bad. I am not suggesting we go the rout of the Vulcans and purge our minds of all emotion. God created us with these emotions. Granted, they have been distorted by sin, but they can be redeemed through Christ and reshaped by the Holy Spirit. For now, however, they are broken, and we should be careful not to trust them too quickly.

That being said, there is a reality behind emotions. It is not necessarily a reality of Truth so much as it is a perceived reality. Just because feelings may produce ideas and perceptions of things that don't exist does not make the actual emotions any less real.
Emotions are real things, even if they aren't founded on reality.
I have worked at a camp for the last two summers, and when working with my campers on trust exercises and encouraging/supporting each other I tell them just that; emotions are real things. It doesn't matter if you Know that your friend is safe. If your friend Feels like he isn't safe, it's as frightening and dangerous in his mind as the real thing. You had better take the situation seriously, because he is not laughing, and he needs to be able to trust you.

On the flip side things that have no effect on our emotions what so ever can very easily be dismissed because it lacks the perception of reality. You can be inundated with the most powerful truth on earth--even the Gospel of Jesus Christ--and still miss the reality of its message if it does not affect your emotions in some way.
How we experience things through our emotional filter is the only representation we have of reality. That does not mean that our perceptions are reality (or truth). But the perceptions are real.
The tricky balance is then figuring out how to recognize and validate people's perceptions (including our own) without dumping truth out the window. This might be one of the reasons Christians are to live in community. With our various perspectives of God (as seen through the filter of scripture) perhaps we can help each other to have a more accurate perception of reality.