There are two fundamentally different ways to view your feelings and what you should be doing with them. You can either view this from the perspective of your fallen nature, or you can view it from the perspective of a transformed life (with a renewed mind), as advocated in
Romans 12:2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.   (ESV)
. We call this transformed perspective the “Kingdom” mind (as Jesus used the term in the Sermon on the Mount).
Coach: Ask your student to read out-loud the text in the paragraph on the left here and then ask them to talk about whether or not it makes sense to them. Also, the underlined Bible verse will pop up if you mouse over it.

(NOTE TO COACH: Remember, be careful NOT to correct or even comment on your student's answers, except to say "What else?" if their answer is too brief.)

Our Fallen nature — Our Fallen nature assumes that feelings come from whether our experiences either exceed, or fail to meet, our expectations. When our experiences exceed what we expect, then we experience positive emotions (good feelings). When our experiences fall short of our expectations, then we experience negative emotions (bad feelings).

When Christians view life from this Fallen nature perspective, then they are likely to see their experiences as “blessings or curses” from God. When Christians feel good, then God is favoring them. Bad feelings are likely seen as happening when God is not pleased with them. This is one reason Christian teachers warn Christians not to trust their emotions. When emotions are tied to events in your life, the only control you have over your emotions is to reappraise the event, so you do not view outcomes negatively. Otherwise, you end up suppressing negatively felt emotions when they occur in order to avoid acting on them.

Coach: Ask your student to read out-loud the text on the left here and then ask them to tell you which parts of this makes sense and why, and if any parts do not seem right, and why.

(NOTE TO COACH: Remember, be careful NOT to correct or even comment on your student's answers, except to say "What else?" if their answer is too brief.)


Please discuss with your coach about some times when the above description might characterize the way you view your feelings, then click here to proceed.