When my youngest son was ten years old the wind was knocked out of him while playing football. It frightened him and he cried. One of his coaches said, “Football players don’t cry.” Blake said, “This one does!” The philosophy that men don’t cry has been passed down to every generation indicating that tears are a sign of weakness. In reality, tears are a normal emotional reaction to pain or feelings of happiness, anger, frustration, or sadness.
Tears are God’s idea. He created tear ducts. Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem. He cried at the grave of Lazarus. He wept in the Garden of Gethsemane. Tears provide an emotional catharsis which is a channel for relief from pain, and release of inner pressure or conflict.
John 11:35
“Jesus wept.”
Practical Application and Assignments:
When the Twin Towers in N.Y.C. collapsed killing almost 3,000 people, George Bush, the President of the United States cried. While some criticized him, others were thankful for a president who wasn’t ashamed to publicly express his feelings of compassion.
- Don’t be embarrassed to cry. It is a healthy release from nervous tension. Suppressed, bottled up pressure will eventually erupt like a volcano in uncontrolled emotional outbursts.
- Stay in touch with your feelings. Constantly staying on the verge of tears may be an indication of unresolved conflict or depression that is affecting you physically, psychologically, or spiritually. Seek professional help if necessary.
- Quit crying over “spilled milk.” Clean it up and make a milk-shake with what is left over. In other words, get over it and move on! “There is a time to weep and a time to laugh.” Ecclesiastes 3:4. Don’t cry when it is time to laugh!
“And God shall wipe away all tears from your eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be anymore pain!” Revelation 21:4
