The phrase “facts don’t care about your feelings” highlights the importance of valuing reason and objective truth over subjective emotions, and in that sense I understand and agree with it. At the same time, I want to guard against using the phrase in a dismissive way. Feelings reflect real human experiences, and rather than ignoring them, they should be brought to the truth and examined in light of it.

When I say that truth cares about your feelings, I mean that truth, what corresponds to reality, has the ability to address our subjective experiences in a meaningful way. Rather than ignoring emotions, truth brings clarity and a firm foundation by helping us discern which feelings should be affirmed and which need to be corrected or put away, based on what is real and true. In that sense, truth truly does care about our feelings. 

In a culture that is often marked by emotional immaturity and manipulation, it makes sense that there has been a strong reaction emphasizing facts and reason. But as Christians, we are not called to swing back and forth with cultural trends. We are called to stand firmly on the truth and to display the love of Christ. That means addressing emotions with truth in a meaningful and incarnational way, one that is faithful to Christ and genuinely loving toward others.

In the Christian faith, truth is personal because truth is a person. Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Because truth is Christ, truth cares about us. Scripture tells us that we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15). Truth is not distant or cold; it is compassionate. Jesus understands and addresses how we feel because He has experienced our griefs and sorrows, our discouragements, and our temptations.

Many people today respond in calculated and reactionary ways rather than with careful thought. They become tribal, shaped and often co-opted by social media and certain educational influences that pressure them toward a prescribed way of thinking, and I would argue, even feeling. As a result, society is fostering a culture that affirms emotions at all costs while neglecting truth. While emotions do matter, the prevailing message is that they are all that matter. In contrast, as Christians we should be clear that truth matters most, and that truth is able to address the issues of the heart in a deep and meaningful way.