Baby Instincts

I have never met a baby who doesn’t like to tell you exactly how they feel. When a baby is hungry, they cry. When a baby is tired, they cry. When a baby is sleepy, they cry. When a baby is happy, sometimes they still cry, but usually you can at least get a cute little grin from them. Before babies learn how to effectively communicate their feelings, they really only know how to cry and smile. Eventually babies learn how to talk and that changes the way they communicate their feelings. As babies grow even older, they learn how to use technology, and that too changes the way their feelings are communicated. Your baby instincts only last for so long, but many parents still say years later, “I miss those days.” Like parents, God loves baby instincts.

It’s human nature to experience all possible types of emotion at one point in your life. Some of us experience the full range of human emotion all in one day. As the late Jim Valvano famously said, “If you laugh, you think, you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.” The problem with humans is that we like to pick and choose the way we express ourselves, but God tells us exactly how it should be done. James 5:13 says, “Is anyone among you suffering? Then pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.” Our spiritual baby instincts are to pray and sing praise.

I’m as guilty as anyone for not first turning to prayer when I’m suffering, but I know (and have learned) it’s the answer when I’m feeling down. When I feel on top of the world, I’m guilty of becoming a little self righteous, but it’s God who deserves all of the credit. Humanity will always struggle with their emotions unless they get back to their baby instincts. For our parent’s sake, it’s okay to cry and smile. For God’s sake, pray and sing praise!

-Jacob 

---