RW360 - Session # 2 - Emotions Were Designed by God

Introduction

Emotions influence most of what goes on in this world. Whether it’s the romantic attraction that draws a couple together, the sacrificial love of a parent for a child, the desire to build a successful ministry or business, the bitterness that corrodes a friendship or the anger that fragments a family or church—emotions play a powerful role in every aspect of life.

And yet most of us know far too little about the source and dynamics of our emotions. Let’s begin to deepen our understanding by taking a quick look at eight basic facts about emotions.

Emotions were designed by God

Core Emotions Chart

Emotions were designed by God: God designed us to experience a wide range of emotion.

The core emotions chart provides a broad generalization of just a few kinds of emotions we experience. It is not precise, but simply gives some broad patterns.

The three categories on the left are generally related to fear, emotions that often make us withdraw from others.

The three on the right are generally related to anger, emotions that often make us lash out;

The three in the middle are more positive, and generally draw us toward other people.

Note that the Bible speaks constantly about emotions, including these references to fear, anger, and love.

This is a topic that many churches do not address very often, which can send the message, “emotions are too unpredictable to really understand or control, so just get your doctrine and theology right, just think right, and things will be OK.” But if God talks specifically about emotions so often in Scripture, shouldn’t the church preach and teach regularly on this topic?

Eight basic observations about emotions

1. Emotions are built into all people in all cultures by God’s design.

They are hardwired into our brains and bodies through the neurological and hormonal systems that God designed at creation and weaves into every baby as it is formed in the womb. As a result, human vocabulary and the Bible itself are filled with emotional terms. Consider

Psalm 32:11 ESV

Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

God commands us to experience and express emotions.

There is a chart in your study guide with nearly 100 different emotional words … just a fraction of the terms in the English language that describe emotions. The chart shows eight categories of emotions, and in each of those categories, there are twelve levels of intensity. As this variety of terminology shows, emotions come in all shapes and sizes.

2. Emotions are complex and involve our whole being.

More specifically, emotions are:

(1) a God-designed part of our personhood;

(2) usually triggered by sensory perception;

(3) influenced by and reveal our values, beliefs, thoughts, concerns, experiences and evaluations;

(4) produce automatic neural, hormonal, muscular, respiratory, cardiovascular and facial reactions; and

(5) energize the will to move us to action.

In fact, the word “emotion” comes from a Latin word that means, “to move.”

Just as the wind moves a sailboat, our emotions are designed to move us to action. We see this dynamic in verses like where Moses came down from Mount Sinai into the camp of the Israelites. When he saw them worshiping the golden calf, his anger moved him to destroy it.

Exodus 32:19 ESV

And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.

Similarly, when David learned of his son Absalom’s death in his love for his son and his grief over his death moved David to weep passionately.

2 Samuel 18:33 ESV

And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Mark 1:41 ESV

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.”

Here we see one of the many occasions where Jesus himself was moved by emotions. In this case, he was approached by a leper. As the Scripture says, “Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “Be clean.”

Both Scripture and experience show that our emotions are constantly moving us. The question is, are we in control of where that movement takes us?

3. Emotions drive some of our most noble and constructive behaviors.

Positive emotions such as love, joy, delight, kindness and compassion move us to form strong relationships, to comfort and serve others, and even to forgive them when they have wronged us. My love for my family and friends moves me to care for them, encourage them and serve them. As Jesus’ love grows in me, I am increasingly inclined to show similar kindness to others, even if they are complete strangers.

These kinds of emotions are found in both saved and unsaved people and drive much of the kind and beneficial behavior that goes on in the world. For example, Exodus 2:5-6 tells us that when Pharaoh’s daughter saw baby Moses floating in a basket on the Nile, she was moved by pity to save him and ultimately raised him as her own son. We see a similar dynamic in Daniel 1:9. When Daniel was being forced to eat food that was ceremonially unclean, the King’s Eunuch had compassion on him and allowed him to pursue a different diet.

4. Emotions can also drive some of our most regrettable and destructive behaviors.

Negative emotions like fear, bitterness, anger, jealousy, self-pity and lust frequently move us to speak and act in ways that damage or even destroy important relationships.

Genesis 37:11 ESV

And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

In Genesis 37:11, we read that when Joseph’s brothers felt jealousy toward him, they were moved to sell him into slavery.

In Acts 7:54, we see that rage moved a crowd to stone Stephen even as he was holding out to them the good news of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Reflect and Review

Describe one or two insights you gained from this teaching.

Why is it important to realize that God designed emotions to move us to action?

Describe a situation in which your emotions drove noble and constructive behavior.

Describe a situation in which your emotions drove regrettable and destructive behavior.

Video: Cinderella Man - Begging for Money

Russell Crowe plays this scene brilliantly. He demonstrates a wide variety of emotions … the shame of being not being able to provide for his family … the pain of his children being sent away … the embarrassment of begging for money. We also see in him a deep love for his children and a desire to keep his family together. He’s moved by those emotions to do something that is extremely difficult, something he would never do just for himself.

We also observe mixed emotions in the men to whom he turns for help. Some are embarrassed by his appeal. Others seem disgusted and judgmental. A few show a little pity. But one man is moved to great kindness. He not only gives Braddock enough money to get his children back, but also, and far more importantly, chokes up with heartfelt grief and compassion to reassure Braddock that he understands his plight and admires his effort to reunite his family. Both of these men display how God-given emotions can move us to do things that reflect God’s character and strengthen our human relationships. 

5. Emotions are not inherently sinful.

I will say that again. Emotions are not inherently sinful. They do not inevitably lead us to sin. Jesus felt a wide range of emotions, including love, compassion, joy, pity, anger, sorrow and agony—both positive and negative emotions. Yet, Jesus never sinned because of his emotions. They never overwhelmed him or moved him to act contrary to his Father’s will. As Jesus said in John 8:29, “The one who sent me is with me. He has never left me alone for I always do what pleases him.”

6. Human emotions are often twisted by sin.

Because of the fall, sin has corrupted our whole being, including our thoughts, emotions and will. Theologians refer to this as the “noetic effect of sin.”

Therefore, like a computer with a defective motherboard, we are unable to consistently understand and control emotions that are triggered by the people and events in our lives. So, while positive emotions will usually move us to do good things, negative emotions often move us to sin against God and one another.

One of the most common ways this happens is through a process called “amygdala hijacking,” which has happened to me many times … and probably to you as well. The human brain is incredibly complex, but for the purposes of this discussion let’s think of it as being divided into two primary regions: the limbic system, where our emotions are centered, and the neocortex, where reasoning and impulse control occur.

The limbic system is located at the top the spinal cord, and the neocortex is further away, closer to our skull. Data enters the limbic system through the thalamus, which is like the reception area of an office. The thalamus then sends impulses to other parts of the brain, including the amygdala and the neocortex.

The amygdala is like an emotional filing cabinet. It stores experiences and emotions. For example, if you had a very bad experience with snakes in your childhood, even a picture of a snake will trigger fear and cause you to recoil. Because of the way brain is wired, data arrives at the amygdala a few nanoseconds before it gets to the neocortex, which is a few inches further away from the thalamus. If that data triggers intense emotions, the amygdala can take control of your mind, body and words before your neocortex has time to process the data.

This “amygdala hijacking” typically results in a behavioral process that has three characteristics:

strong emotions …

which trigger an impulsive reaction …

that is quickly regretted.

To put this in simple terms, when emotions go up, reasoning usually goes down.

Most of us have experienced this in real life. I know I have. There’s been times when my children irritated or provoked me, and I reacted with sharp words. But just moments later I would feel deep regret as I saw the hurt look on their faces.

Amygdala hijacking is also depicted in the Scriptures. One of the most vivid examples involves the apostle Peter on the night Jesus was betrayed. Peter had promised Jesus that no matter what happened, he would remain loyal. He would stay with Jesus, even if it meant going to his own death. Yet when Peter was confronted and challenged about being a disciple of Jesus, he denied he even knew him. Fear welled up and hijacked his brain, all his promises were forgotten, and he denied his Savior … not once, but three times. Scripture tells us that Peter went outside the gate, leaned against the wall and wept bitterly. Within moments, he regretted what he had done, but it was too late to take it back.

“Sins of exploiting people, manipulating systems, ducking responsibilities, withholding good will, and working out resentments regularly issue from minds that are temporarily switched off.”

J I Packer

Video: Cinderella Man - But I Need You

We are going to look at another clip from the movie, Cinderella Man. As you recall, this is a true story about a man named James Braddock, a boxer who lost all his money in the Great Depression. After struggling for months to provide for his family, he gets an unexpected chance to redeem himself by fighting the current boxing champion. The problem is that the man he is going to fight has killed two other men in the ring. As you can imagine, Braddock’s wife, Mae, is terrified at the prospect of her husband going in the ring with a man who might kill him.

As you watch this scene, look for the classic signs of amygdala hijacking in Mae. Look for the sudden onset of intense emotions that cause her to do something impulsively that she soon regrets. Also, note how her husband failed to read her emotional cues, which made her more vulnerable to being hijacked.

This video clip illustrates an important fact. Fear usually manifests itself in one of three ways: control, anger (which is actually a form of control) or withdrawal. Mae showed all three signs of deep fear. As a result, she overflowed with harsh words toward her children, scaring them terribly. She also threatened her husband, loading more stress on his shoulders at a time when he needed to focus on getting in that ring, winning and coming out alive.

We’ve all done the same kind of thing at times and regretted it as much as Mae surely did. Like her, we’ve allowed our emotions to control us like an “invisible puppeteer” that is jerking us around and causing us to say and do things we soon regret. The good news is that we don’t have to go on letting our emotions control us like this.

7. We have hope for change. Through the gospel, God has redeemed us from the curse of sin.

He has made us new creations, which impacts our thoughts, emotions and will, and he is now pouring his grace into us, giving us the ability to understand our emotions and progressively bring them under the Lordship of Christ. This wonderful change is promised repeatedly in Scripture.

Ezekiel 36:26 ESV

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

God says that he will give to us a new heart and a new spirit, progressively freeing us from the power of our sinful emotions, desires and harmful habits.

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The Apostle Paul calls us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. To develop new ways of thinking! New ways of evaluating life! New ways of responding to emotions!

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Paul shares wonderful news that if we are in Christ, God is transforming us by the indwelling power of his Holy Spirit.

8. The key steps in redeeming and controlling our emotions are:

To bring them to God in humility, faith and prayer;

To examine them in the light of God’s truth;

To ask Him for the grace, wisdom and strength we need to harness the power of our emotions so that their ultimate impact is to move us to love the Lord with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

In other words, rather than simply listening to and following our emotions, we need to “preach God’s truth to ourselves” in order to take every thought, emotion, word and action captive to Christ! That is precisely what we will be learning to do throughout the rest of this course.

Reflect and Review

Describe one or two insights you gained from this teaching.

How does the gospel impact our ability to counteract the way that sin has twisted our emotions?

God created us with brains that have both an emotional capacity and a rational capacity. As his grace redeems our minds, how could those two capacities work together in a way that benefits and strengthens our relationships?

What biblical truths could you preach to yourself when your emotions are threatening to hijack you?

Bringing It Home

What is the difference between Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom?

Knowledge - compiling facts, information or data

Oxford Dictionary

facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.

Understanding - comprehending facts, information, or data

Oxford Dictionary

the ability to understand something; comprehension.

sympathetically aware of other people's feelings; tolerant and forgiving

having insight or good judgment.

Wisdom- applying the facts, information, or data

Oxford Dictionary

the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise

the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment.the body of knowledge and principles that develops within a specified society or period.

Discussion Questions

What new thoughts have you had since reading and studying Relational Wisdom Lesson # 2 or from Hearing James’ message.

What verse from this study will you commit to meditating on and memorizing this week? Write it down. Share it with others.

Pondering, Personalizing, and Practicing:

What is the main point of the study? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Learn

What did I learn?

Where has my thinking, beliefs, and values been challenged in this study?

Do I find any of the characteristics ways of thinking or behaving of the ungodly in my life?

List and describe those areas in which I struggle.

Love

What does this study teach me about God?

Has my thinking about God changed?

How have I learned to love God more and others selflessly as a result of this passage?

Have I learned ways that I have acted unlovingly towards others that I must change?

Live

What are the practical steps that I can take to apply to what I have learned in this study?

Where must I change?

What do I need to repent and confess?

How will pondering and personalizing truth from this study change how I live my life today and moving forward?

Praying (ACTS)

What specific things can I pray adoring God because of what I learned in this study?

What specific things do I need to confess based on what I learned from this study?

What specific things do I need to thank God for based on what I learned from this study?

What specific things do I need to request in prayer (supplication) based on what I learned from this study?