Not too long ago I was thinking about emotions. I was contemplating how our emotions are a big part of who we are. When you think about emotions you might think about love, anger, hate, or fear. We don't necessarily have an understanding of our emotions, but we know that they affect how we live our lives.
The word "emotion" comes from the latin word meaning 'to agitate or stir up.' Our emotions arouse in us perceptions and feelings about life. This is a good thing, because it is what keeps us from being robots. But the challenge is learning how to control our emotions.
It can be a challenge to control our emotions, because our emotions are often stirred up by situations that seem out of our control. EX. You are driving along, and someone rudely cuts you off. This stirs up anger in you before you even realize it is there. OR, someone smiles at you and opens the door for you, which stirs up feelings of happiness.
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 4:23, "Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts..." We should contain our emotions through our will and our intellect, but this isn't always the case. We don't always think before we feel. We don't always try to control how we react to situations. But we should, because our emotions can get us into trouble. When we get angry at someone before we think, we might say something hurtful, and cause ourselves greater problems. If we let our love for someone get out of control, we could become obsessed with them.
Proverbs 25:28 tells us, "Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control." In Galatians 5:23 we are told that self-control is a Fruit of the Spirit. In Titus, chapter 2, Titus is told by Paul that in his teaching, he is to teach the older men to be self-controlled (Titus 2:2), the women to be self-controlled (Titus 2:5), and the young men to be self-controlled (Titus 2:6). We need to control our emotions so that life is best experienced. If you are like me, and you react to situations, you know that it is very important to exercise self-control over your emotions. By being in control of our emotions, we will keep from making life more difficult and complicated, and we will be able to live the life God calls us to live.
If you have trouble with controlling your emotions, please e-mail me at pastorchrislogan@yahoo.com and I would love to pray for you in this area. If you would like to add your thoughts on this subject, please click the "comments" button below, and share your thought.
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