EMOTIONS AND SELF-CONTROL

A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. (Proverbs 25:28 ESV)

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, (2 Peter 1:5-8 ESV)

Emotions are a part of human life. They may change because of changing circumstances or the conscious decisions we make, but often it may seem that our feelings have a mind of their own. In any given situation (good or bad) if we are not consciously making rational decisions about what is happening around us, our subconscious emotions may quickly fill the gap. Sometimes the results are not pretty.

KEEPING THE HEART

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. (Proverbs 4:23-27 ESV)

We often talk about the heart as the seat of our passions and emotions. In this non-physical sense, we think of it as the domain of our true feelings and beliefs. King Solomon reminds us to, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23 ESV)

I like that proverb and its description of the human heart; “for from it flow the springs of life.” What do you imagine these springs might look like? I would envision that, from person to person, there would be some degree of difference in each. Some would be crystal clear while others would be cloudy and some black in hue. The quality of the springs would be determined by the amount of the world’s pollution found in the heart. Out of the well-kept heart will flow living springs that will glorify God. I am speaking, of course, of wisdom (living springs) – the kind that only the words of God can give. Immediately following this verse, Proverbs 4 goes on to instruct us: