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Should Christians use the terms “good vibes” or “bad vibes”?

There are various meanings of “good and bad vibes”.  That phrase has to do with getting a ‘feeling’ and an impression from a person or a situation.  The actual words are not scriptural, but they may describe a part of the human brain function that we are all born with.

The human brain was created with the ability to see and hear information and have an immediate thought and assessment regarding it. Human intuition can alert us to danger, and may trigger a survival response of fight or flight.  Here is an example,  human intuition may make a person uneasy when faced with an over-zealous sales person, leading to resistance to the purchase.  Human intuition may also cause a person to feel at ease when faced with a compassionate social worker who seems to genuinely care about people, leading us to want to cooperate.

If one senses something is really seriously wrong, we must be aware, cautious, ready to act, and immediately bring the issue to the Lord in prayer.

As a true Christian it is important to be aware of our initial impressions and the emotions they evoke.  It is also important to bring these impressions to the Lord and ask for direction and thinking through the situation with the mind of Christ.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but let God re-mould you from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves toward the goal of true maturity.”

Romans 12:2

 

The concept of questioning our impressions and emotions is brought out in Psalm 42.11 “Why are you in despair, my soul?  Why are you disturbed within me?  Hope in God, for once again I will praise him, since his presence saves me and he is my God.”

We need to examine our impressions and emotions, in this case despair and a troubled spirit and challenge it with the reality of the Lord’s truth and perspective.  In this case the discouragement and troubled spirit is re-examined against the power of hoping and waiting on God—knowing the Lord’s sure deliverance through the challenges, and that this sure deliverance gives a sure reason for praise.

Another example is that of Peter.  He was hungry and when he saw the vision of the great sheet, filled with unclean animals and birds, and when he heard a voice say “Get up Peter, and eat” his response was ‘No way!  I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.’” Acts 10:10-14

Peter’s intuition and first impression was to never partake of such food, and he was in emotional and intellectual resistance.  This vision was, however, was meant to broaden his spirituality because it was time to accept the fulfillment of the Law of Moses and the invitation to Gentiles to follow Christ.  It took a series of events for Peter to see let go of his initial impression and accept this new direction from the Lord.  (Acts 10:15-43, 44-48)

May we listen attentively to the Lord as we experience our intuition, our impressions and our feelings through prayer and through guidance through His Word and providence.

“Every scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for convincing, for correction of error, and for instruction in right doing; so that the man of God may himself be complete and may be perfectly equipped for every good work.”  2 Timothy 3:16-17

2 Corinthians 10:5  “Casting down imaginations [reasonings] and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience [attentive hearkening] of Christ.”

To learn more about how to decide what is right or wrong for a Christian listen to,

“How Do I Know My Decisions Are Right?”

“Can Good Things Ever Be Bad?”