The Lord has blessed us with the gift of emotions. If they are handled appropriately, they are very valuable. They allow us to express ourselves in varied circumstances and situations. We can express our joy, excitement, disappointment, sadness, hope, and expectations.
We are tri-part beings made of spirit, soul, and body. Our soul is comprised of mind, will, and emotions. The soul is the entity that operates between our physical body and our spirit man. Our emotions, which are part of the soul, can be either influenced by our physical bodies or by our spirit man.
If we allow our emotions to be controlled by external circumstances, we will be tossed to and fro by people and various circumstances. Our emotions will begin to rule our lives and cause us to live on a emotional roller coaster.
On the other hand, if the emotions are controlled by the Holy Spirit they bring life, vitality, and animation to our lives. They can show the heart of God to others and allow us to be a conduit for His purpose on the earth.
While the scripture addresses specific emotions such as joy, sadness, or anger, it does not deal with the issue of feelings as a whole. The Bible looks at each emotion, and it addresses it differently depending on what is rooted in.
A fool vents all his feelings, But a wise man holds them back. Proverbs 29:11
The above verse is the only scripture in New King James Version that addresses emotions as a whole. This scripture points to the fact that people tend to vent their emotions in unhealthy ways. However, a wise person does not give over the rein of his/her life to the emotions but has learned to restrain them.
Our emotions tend to lie to us and make something appear more urgent and critical that it really is. They have a way of bubbling up inside of us to the point that have to be vented. Emotions can become a raging river that floods everything that it comes into contact.
Why do we have to vent? Do we believe that it keeps us real? Do we think we may lose the opportunity to address the issue if we don’t react to it right away? Have our emotions helped us to get our way in the past, so we use them to manipulate others? Do we feel powerful when we are emotional because others back off? Are we prophetic and assume that all our emotions are led by Lord?
We see the affect of this in our churches and society. Some get married out of emotions and then they find themselves out of love in a few years. Some in moments of rage hurt each other verbally or physically breaking down relationships in the heat of the moment. Others can be jubilant and excited at church but don’t know how to get along with their mate or pay their bills. Some get very emotional about their bad decisions but once the emotions subside, they go back to doing the same thing as before. In addition, we see all kinds of hurtful and disrespectful material on social media because people get emotional and find a need to vent right away.
If we don’t restrain our emotions, they will control us and the results can be bad decisions impacting our lives as well as others. It is important to slow down. Pray, and give ourselves time to calm down. Our Spirit man should take the lead and not allow our emotions to run ahead of our spirit man.
