I watched the movie “Inside Out 2” on Friday with a friend, and it was an emotional rollercoaster. Both the first and second movies were an amusing depiction of how our emotions operate and take control of our actions. During the movie, a thought came to mind: “Is this how God watches us whenever we do something?”
In the movie, we could see nine different emotions: joy, envy, sadness, fear, anger, embarrassment, anxiety, ennui, and disgust. They all have a biological purpose and take control depending on the situation and our surroundings, but it made me wonder what the religious take on such emotions is. I don’t mean blanket statements like “it’s bad to be envious of your neighbor” or “anger is a sin.” I genuinely wonder what the biblical perspective is on allowing our emotions to take control and the effect they might have on others.
JOY
Joy can be an emotion, the name of a person but it is also one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
It comes whenever we experience pleasure or happiness. Joy can be found in the smallest things, like eating your favorite food, and in big moments, like getting married or buying your first house.
As believers, we are expected to feel joy in the presence of our Father and worship Him with happiness (Psalm 100:1-2).
Allowing joy to take control once in a while gives us the opportunity to find pleasure in every situation, but it’s risky when she takes total control.
Excessive joy can lead to overconfidence, causing us to take risks and make poor judgments. It can also lead to overlooking obvious problems and underestimating the seriousness of a situation.
Imagine:
One day, you find out that teaching is your calling. Overcome with excitement, you start making plans to open your own school and share new knowledge with the world. Allowing yourself to be completely controlled by joy can get you into trouble. You’ll be solely focused on all the fun, forgetting that there’s also a lot of work and risk involved with such a big project.
SADNESS
She goes hand in hand with depression. Sadness is a natural response to life’s disappointments and losses, but if you allow her to take control for a longer period of time, she will drown you in depression.
Even Jesus wept after the death of Lazarus but it was for a moment (John 11:35). No matter how bad the situation is, as believers we know that our tomorrow is better than our today (Psalm 30:5). There’s a time to be sad and cry but when the time to move on comes along, make sure sadness isn’t in control anymore.
Remember when I cried after failing that test? It took me a while to get over myself but I eventually did. Now imagine if I was still sulking and crying; I don’t think I would make progress even in other aspects of life.
FEAR
We’ve all heard about ‘fight or flight’ at least once before. That is the power of fear; whenever he senses danger, he immediately finds a way to get us out of that situation. But sometimes he freezes when overwhelmed allowing the pending danger to persist.
This is very common in ministry; God has a calling for everyone of us. Some of us fight it head on and try to tackle every obstacle that comes our way, while others may run because they’re scared. There are also people who freeze and go with the flow.
From a biological point of view, he should be respected because he saves us from danger every single day. But from a religious point of view, fear should not be in control, whether the enemy is physical or spiritual (Joshua 1:9).
ANGER
Often known as a negative and destructive emotion. It’s also an emotion I avoid as much as possible; I try to resolve the situation while I’m still irritated and frustrated before I allow anger to come out of his room.
However anger is an important emotion, we should not bottle things up for too long or we might explode. It’s important to find healthy ways to express ourselves.
Ephesians 4:26-27: In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
This is a very important verse that I wish more people would follow. Whenever I’m angry, I isolate myself. Not because I’m proud or I want to be malicious; but because I know that if I speak in anger, I would say things I’d regret.
Anger is very explosive and he doesn’t give you time to gather your thoughts. So if you find it hard to control him when he takes over; run and hide yourself until you’ve been able to calm down.
There is also a different kind of anger; Holy anger. This is directed towards injustice, sin, and ungodly behavior. It seeks to address and correct wrongdoing and NOT to hurt someone’s feelings (Mark 11:15-17).
DISGUST
She is a basic emotional response typically triggered by something offensive, distasteful, or repulsive. When we’re disgusted by something, we tend to stay far away from it.
There are things that should disgust us even as Christians; sin.
Stay away from sinners because if you let them influence you too much, you might end up distracted (Leviticus 11:43-44).
However we shouldn’t allow disgust to control how we feel about our fellow human beings; it doesn’t matter if they’re sinners, unbelievers, idolators etc. We were all made in the image of God and for that reason alone, everyone deserves respect.
ANXIETY
An emotion I’m sadly enough all too familiar with. I’m an overthinker; give me a scenario and I’ll tell you a hundred ways in which things could go wrong. DO NOT allow anxiety to take over (I’m begging you). She is an expert in ruining possible miracles and testimonies and she knows how to rob people of their joy and growth.
Mistakes will always happen but we cannot allow the fear of the unknown to take over our lives (Matthew 6:34).
ENNUI
His name means a feeling of listlessness, dissatisfaction, or boredom that arises from a lack of excitement, interest, or stimulation in life.
He should never take control of the life of a believer. Serving God isn’t boring, neither is it something that we should lack interest in doing.
I can understand momentary lack of excitement after doing the exact same routine over and over again but it is up to us to change that! If you’re already bored because you spent a few years on earth serving God, how do you want to survive eternal life?
Psalm 27:8 – My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek. Regain your energy whenever you feel drained and seek His face!!
ENVY
She is a troublesome emotion; she is a feeling of discontent or resentment due to someone else’s possessions, qualities, or achievements, followed by a desire to have what they have or to see them deprived of it. She comes with feelings of bitterness or covetousness towards another person’s success or advantages. Please do not allow her to take control or she’ll ruin you and those around you.
James 3:14-16: But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
EMBARASSMENT
This is a feeling of self-consciousness, shame, or awkwardness when our actions, appearance, or circumstances cause discomfort or humiliation, often in front of others. It can arise from making a mistake, being in a socially awkward situation, or being the center of attention in an undesirable way.
If I got a coin for every time I felt embarrassed in life, I would be a millionaire by now. But he should also not be allowed to take control because he might prevent us from taking steps and making potential progress.
As believers we should not allow him to interfere in our relationship with God. Never be ashamed of our God. If every time someone mentions the name of Jesus in public and you hide your face, don’t shamelessly run to Him afterwards when you need help. Matthew 10:33 – But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
Bottom line is: too much of everything is bad. Emotions are good (God gave them to us) and they’re even necessary for our survival but allowing them to take complete control over us will get us in trouble.
Stay Blessed x
