The Passionate, Logical Truth

My grandfather was a good man.

The stats don't lie. He was married to his wife for 57 years. He worked for 20 years at Maytag and at the Farmers CoOp, and he labored the land and livestock all his life. He raised four kids, had ten adoring grandchildren, and accumulated a sparkling collection of hundreds of toy tractors.

The numbers can't tell the whole story, though. His laugh was infectious, especially when he was instigating some not so subtle teasing. His smile when he greeted you made you feel like you mattered. To listen to him swear at machinery or farm animals was fantastic, especially for a grandson. I could try to write it all down; but I'm not sure I could ever get it just right, the way I feel when I remember the million steps I took beside him across that farm now 15, 20, 25 years ago.

To get it right, to get to the truth of it, the whole man in all his goodness, you need logic and emotion. Just one won't do. I came to this realization recently as I was studying one of Paul's New Testament letters as part of my Biblical exposition class. In Colossians, Paul is addressing a body of relatively new believers with the goal of reminding them not to be distracted and deceived from the reason for their belief and the source of truth and hope in their lives: Christ. As I broke down the structure of the letter, I noticed exactly the type of "proof" I've offered above - a logical argument and an emotional appeal.

Paul begins by reminding them of all that's true about Jesus. He is the image of God, the Creator of all, preeminent and proclaimed in all creation. He is the firstborn from the dead, the hope of the gospel, and the reason for all of creation and their hope. In the course of a couple of sentences, Paul lays out all the practical, logical reasons for faith in Christ and not elsewhere.

Then he takes a masterful turn. Knowing what many forget, that head knowledge is not enough, Paul goes to the heart. He reminds them that they have an individual story, and that story has seen great change because of Christ. Paul takes their own personal, powerful faith experience and asks them where that came from. He makes them feel, creating an emotional investment that builds on his argument.

What Paul gets is that we need both to hold on to the truth.

Logic isn't enough. I can't count the number of times I've known something makes sense but not gone with the facts. Numbers and statistics are practical, but they don't always move us. You can know your spouse loves you, or know that you have a good job, or know how many calories are in that perfectly frosted Christmas cookie. That doesn't mean that you're feeling that right this moment.

In the same fashion, emotion will not carry the truth either. I fear too many people rely solely on their feelings to guide them and their actions; my experience tells me my gut makes some pretty awful choices. Emotions are fickle; to be guided and convinced only by how one feels is to be reliant on a constant pep-rally to maintain devotion to projects, goals, people, and God. Feelings are great, but feelings will not remain constant. In anything. That which I most want to do or know is best for my life is often that which is most difficult to act out.

I caution you, then, just as Paul did, to examine your loyalties. Feed them through both logic and emotion. One will never be enough. With both, however, your knowledge, your priorities, and your actions become rock solid, an immovable force unswayed by deception and distraction. You become constant.

And constant in my priorities is exactly what I want to be.

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