Thursday, May 24, 2007

Emotions Part2

Last week we discussed emotions and their purpose. Today we will discuss the Biblical view of emotions. The one Bible verse that came to mind is Proverbs 4:23 which states, “Keep your heart with ALL diligence because out of it springs the issues of life.” God wants us to be wise about our emotions. Sometimes our emotions will lead us on a never- ending roller coaster. He instructs us to use wisdom concerning what we discuss with others (by guarding our hearts). Even the Word says “a fool uttereth all his mind but a wise man keepeth it until afterwards” Proverbs 29:11. There is even a better translation that states “A fool expresses all his emotions but a wise person controls them (God’s Word Translation). God does not want us wearing our “heart on our sleeve” so to speak. This reminds me of the story concerning Samson and Delilah. The story opens up in Judges 13, where the children of Israel had sinned against God. Because of this sin, the Lord allowed them to be overtaken by the Philistines. Samson was chosen by God before he was even born to be a deliverer to the children of Israel. He was a special child, and God told his mother to not cut his hair (we will talk about this significance as the story progress). When Samson became a young man he strongly admired a young lady. He became awe-struck by her beauty upon seeing her for the first time. However, his parents disapproved of her since she was a Philistine. As time progress we see that this woman was later given to his companion. As the story progress we see that when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, he was able to defeat his enemies (1,000) single handedly in Judges 15:15. After this victory he met Delilah who he fell in love with. The Philistines (which where Delilah’s people) told her to entice Samson into telling the source of his strength. As Delilah began to wear Samson down, he told her “all his heart” and the secret to his strength (he honoring the vows of God not to cut his hair). Read the story in Judges 13-16 to learn about what happens to Samson. Also look at the patterns in his life (concerning his first wife, and Delilah). You will notice that him telling women “all his heart” didn’t just start with Delilah.

4 comments:

Insightful said...

Yes, it was Samson’s emotions that got him into trouble, as he was not able to control them in her presence. He was young and brash and now acting careless because he thought he was invincible after single-handedly defeating a thousand of his enemies. Yep, he let it all go to his head. So there is another lesson in this story: Don’t get too bigheaded. That is what happened to Samson and that is what we should avoid. Samson began to show off and loosen his morals. We should never lose sight of that. When we put on a façade is the day we let down our guard, something to think about….

Miss Rhoadie said...

Very true....
And if you read in the earlier passage, this wasn't Samson's first time spilling his emotions to a woman. He allowed his first wife (who was later given to his friend) manipulate him concerning the riddle.

Insightful said...

[i]Out of the eater came forth food, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.[/i]

[b]What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion?[/b]

Miss Rhoadie said...

I'm going to have to read those riddles.

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