The Man the Moment DemandsIhe Atụ

THE EARTHQUAKE OF EMOTIONS

Society has taught men to repress their emotions until they explode. It’s time to relearn how to express our feelings in a healthy way so we can experience the freedom God offers us—freedom to recognize and show our emotions without letting them control us.

I like to use something I call the Earthquake of Emotions to help men move toward this freedom. An earthquake begins many layers beneath the earth’s surface at a point called the hypocenter, where the energy released from the earth’s core builds up underneath the ground. When the energy remains trapped in the earth, it will eventually create seismic waves that progress outward from the hypocenter.

For humans, the emotions that we feel but rarely express are like that energy. When our emotions are repressed, they inevitably force their way out of our bodies to relieve the internal pressure in our hearts. Just as geological factors affect the strength of seismic waves, various factors in your life will influence the strength of your emotions, from subtle feelings to intense reactions.

If the seismic waves are strong enough to reach the surface, the point at which they hit the most intensely is called the epicenter. This epicenter lies directly above the hypocenter, and it’s where the ground will move the most during an earthquake.

For men, the epicenter becomes the expressed emotion, most often anger, which I call the surface emotion. Yet anger is never the hypocenter emotion for the outburst. It’s the result of a much deeper feeling, such as insecurity or fear. But due to men’s emotional incarceration, we are unable to identify and release the deep-seated emotions, hence our emotional earthquakes. To master the emotions that often rule us at the wrong moments, we must first understand the underlying factors contributing to our emotional struggles, whether they stem from personal experiences, toxic thoughts, or trauma. Achieving emotional stability and effective communication requires this understanding and action.

In Galatians 5, Paul urges us to “stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1-2). When we become comprehensive men who engage in introspection and courageously confront and communicate emotions, we can live in that godly freedom.

In what ways do emotions beneath the surface keep you from experiencing freedom?