Happy, sad, angry, joyful, fearful, peaceful, excitement, wonder, confusion, jealousy.
These are only 10 out of 3,000 words used to describe what we are feeling, and that is only the English language. The fact that we have so many words to describe our feelings is a direct testimony to the complexity of our hearts and the emotions we feel that still seem to push past the ability of words to describe, which is why we are told that the heart is wicked and deceitful.
This has brought us to the point of fearing our own hearts and the outcome. So again we have gone from simply being cautious and aware of the power of our emotions, to running from them and calling them evil. Emotions have the power to sway the core of our very being. When you see people who tend to be a normally happy individuals and they become angry, you see and hear people say things and do things that they would never do otherwise. When they are afraid, sad, jealous; you can find them acting in ways that can potentially harm others. They can become blinded by their emotions, by their rage, their despair, their fear.
Even in these negative lights we can still understand that emotions are both a blessing and a curse. So we look at the other side of the coin. Emotions are beautiful. We see this most in moments such as a friend or family member going out of their way to help you, those butterflies you get when you see the person you love after a long time. Joy, peace, love. The problem is not that emotions are evil and that the heart is deceitful. It is that we are too lazy and self centered and don't truly care enough to learn how to control them. When we fail we blame it on the heart being deceitful and wicked and so we fall into the idea that all emotions, being based off our hearts, are evil and need to be caged up and locked away. However it is the exact opposite.
We were given emotions by God, being made in the image of God, not from sin. So why throw away a gift from God? In moments of despair or grief we wish them away. Yet the right response is not to run from them, but to learn to deal with them and use them. We cannot just let our emotions go but we don't have to pretend they are not there. These emotions of ours are tools God has given us: tools to grow, tools to love, tools to inspire.
However, learning to do so requires total commitment. We can know every word and every punctuation mark in Gods word, yet if we have not fully committed our hearts to Him, then it is useless and your heart will take you down the path that leads to death. It is not just an every day choice, but it is every minute, every second of every day, not just a one time prayer to follow Jesus and surrender ourselves to Him. It is a daily battle of our sinful nature trying to reclaim our hearts. Fight fire with fire, emotion with emotion. Don't follow out of obligation or duty or fear, but zealously follow Him, make him the very focus of your life, above grades, above your job, above relationships. Glorify and honor Him with every action and every emotion.
