I read a post on Pinterest tonight which said: I hate it when my anger turns to tears. I immediately thought: why? Why would that bother you? And then I guessed the reason was probably because tears are seen as a sign of weakness. But they shouldn't be. It takes a strong person to give vent to tears whether they're angry tears or sad tears or compassionate tears or even happy tears.
Tears are a release valve that the Lord has installed in all of us. Tears help us release the pressure that is building up in us. They wash our soul of hurt. They release tension. They show love to someone who is hurting. They show extreme joy. They show gratitude. They're love bubbling over. They're sorrow washing away. Tears are an important part of who we are. God made us this way.
Sometimes a good cry can make us feel better. Sometimes all we need is to cry out the emotion that has been bottled up inside of us and let the Lord fill our hearts with joy once again. God cares about us and He cares about our tears too. He sees each one (Psalm 56:8). When we grieve God grieves with us. When we're shedding happy tears, God is happy too. He cares about us.
For so many years our society taught little boys that 'men don't cry' and boys were taught to have a 'stiff upper lip'. Well, we realized how terrible that teaching was so, as a society, we taught our boys and men to have a 'sensitive side' and now it was 'alright' for a man to show his emotions. But somewhere in this confusion many women 'toughened up' and refused to cry because they saw tears as a weakness. That's sad. What a mixed up world we live in!
Humans are emotional creations and when we refuse to give way to our emotions and keep suppressing them, we become hardened; our hearts develop calluses and we can, if we're not careful, become very detached in our relationships and to the world around us. Romans 12:15 tells us to "rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep". We are to have compassion and to show that compassion with our emotions to those around us. Jeremiah 31:9 says "they will have tears of joy". The Bible is very clear that there are many different types of tears.
God made us to shed tears and not to despise them as a sign of weakness. Sometimes I cry and I'm not ashamed to say so.
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