(From the June 4, 2023 sermon - "God's Wisdom on Pride and Humility")
You might struggle with pride if…
1. You don’t complement others frequently.
2. You can’t accept a compliment with just a simple thank you.
3. You make negative comments about others often. (Can you believe; Did you see; I wish they would…)
4. You don’t ask questions about others.
5. You dislike when others ask questions about you.
6. You are not easily satisfied. Even though someone does something for you, you often think it should be more.
7. You laugh at others but can’t laugh at yourself.
8. You have a need to be in control (or at least think you are).
9. You think you’re too insignificant to be recognized by others.
10. You obsess about making yourself attractive to others either physically or by accomplishment.
11. You're not open to constructive criticism. (Feedback – welcome and invite it)
12. You frequently tell stories about yourself.
13. Your prayer life is little or non-existent. (prayer by nature is humbling)
14. You like to name drop.
15. You’re not teachable.
16. Your preference is the only thing right. (There are absolutes...these are things that are truly preference)
17. You’re critical or envious of others’ success. (instead of “I’m happy for you”…)
18. You dominate conversations.
19. You don’t commonly say please and thank you.
20. You don’t open the door for others.
21. You start responding with an answer before a question is finished.
22. You find your significance in what others think of you.
23. You are easily offended (the victim mentality).
24. You don’t greet people when they enter a room.
25. You are you

To be human is to experience emotions. More significantly, our emotions are part of what it means to be created in the image of God.

What is the biblical framework for how we think about and handle emotions?

Proverbs 12:25 (ESV) - Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

Proverbs 14:13 (ESV) - Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief.

Proverbs 15:13 (ESV) - A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.

Proverbs 17:22 (ESV) - A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Proverbs 18:14 (ESV) - A man’s spirit will endure sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?

Proverbs 14:29–30 (ESV) - Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. 30A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.

Proverbs 25:15 (ESV) - With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.

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

Proverbs 28:25 (ESV) - A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the Lord will be enriched.

Proverbs 27:4 (ESV) - Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?

Truth 1: Emotions are unavoidable in life, so we should not deny them.

Why? Because God created us as emotional beings. (Inherent, innate)
How? By creating us in His image (Genesis 1-2).

The Bible is abundantly clear, God has emotions:

The Father
Sorrow (Genesis 6:5-6)
Jealous (Ex. 20:5)
Anger (Deut. 13:17)
Pleasure (Psalm 149:4)
Delight (Deut. 30:9; Jeremiah 9:24)
Love (1 John 4:16)
Psalm 145:8–9 (ESV) - The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

The Son (exact imprint of His nature – Hebrews 1:1-4; in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell – Colossians 1:19))
Anger (John 2:14-22; Mark 3:1-5; Matthew 23)
Anguish (Matthew 26:38-39)
Grief (John 11:35)
Sadness (Luke 19:41-42)
Joy (John 15:11)
Compassion (Mark 1:41)
Love (John 13:1; 14:31)

The Holy Spirit
Grief (do not grieve the Holy Spirit - Eph. 4:30)

Truth 2: The ability to emote is inherently good; yet, sin has distorted our emotions.

Truth 3: Emotions are internal responses to thinking and belief.

Internal = part of the immaterial (non-physical) part of us – heart, soul, spirit

Emotions can cause physical changes – the Proverbs we read express some of this and the broader truth of Scripture clearer points to it - sweaty palms, racing heart, groans, and so on but the physical change itself is not the emotion.

Responses = follows thinking and belief (pattern)
- Adam saw Eve then…; Eve saw and believed something different about the tree then…
- Jesus wept in response to the grieving hearts of loved ones with Lazarus; He wept over Jerusalem as he stood on the mount of olives and looked over the city
- God is a jealous God and that emotion is stirred when He sees us participating in idol worship – God is jealous for His glory, we tend to be jealous for our glory.
- We respond in joy when our team hits a last second shot to win a game
- Watching movies; listening to music

1. Emotions are triggered by what we think about.
2. Stimulus, thinking (engages heart/mind), emotion, action, long-term action develops character.

Emotions express values and evaluations of a person (“Feelings and Faith” by Brian Borgman)
- You grieve differently when someone close to you dies vs someone you don’t know.
- We value different things to different degrees so our emotional response is different – that is an expression of value
- Emotions are more than just feelings. Emotions are not amoral, neutral. As a response to thinking and belief we are responsible for our feelings.

Emotions influence motives and conduct ("Feeling and Faith" by Brian Borgman)
- Emotions influence actions – why we do things (motives) and what we do (conduct)

Truth 4: Emotions are indicators, not dictators.

Truth 5: We are not to deny our emotions, nor are we to be dictated by our emotions. Instead, we seek to align our emotions to the will of God.

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. 2Do 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.

Truth 6: Amidst the complexity - always turn to the heart!

Mark 12:30–31 (ESV) - And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Questions to help:
What was the situation?
How did you respond?
What were you thinking/feeling?
What did you want?
What would God say about your response?
Is there anything God would want you to do differently?

Discussion Questions
1. What is your history with emotions? Did you grow up in a home where emotions were denied or where they dictated life?

2. God created us as emotional beings – this reflects His image in us. Is that a new thought for you? Describe what you think about this truth.

3. Read Romans 12:9-20. What emotions come to mind, or are specifically referred to, within this passage of multiple exhortations?

4. Anger, happiness, sadness, guilt, fear. First, do you agree these are emotions? If so, what are the positive (God honoring) and negative (selfish oriented) sides of these emotions?