Emotions

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep Romans 12:9-15.

Are you gnashing your teeth?

Gnashing, or grinding one’s teeth is an idiomatic expression for intense anger. The verb gnash, charaq, is used 5 times in the Old Testament, each time referring to anger. Jesus’ statement about hell, “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,” uses the verbs klauthmos and brugmos, each of the 7 times brugmos is used, it is used with klauthmos. The two characteristics of hell are weeping and anger, not pain. God doesn’t torture people and demons in hell. They choose to be away from Him because they are angry, and then they are sad for choosing anger over God’s love. So choose love over anger. Don’t let your heart be formed by anger. Let your heart be formed by love and weeping now, so you can rejoice in God’s presence.

Are you moved in your heart, liver and kidneys?

The Greek word for compassion is splagchnizomai, which means to be moved in your inward parts, especially the heart, liver and kidneys. Compassion begins with an inward movement, as you hurt on the inside in response to the hurting on the inside of someone else. As you love without hypocrisy, you will demonstrate brotherly love by treating others' emotional needs and hurts as greater than yours. As you weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice, you will notice that your joy is doubled by sharing it with others and your sorrow is halved by bearing it with others.

Your body is the vehicle of your emotions.

Your emotions are more than chemical synapses in your brain. Your emotions ripple through your body and involve your entire self. Anger, sadness and compassion stir inside you and finish cooking when they display themselves in your body. When anger storms through your body, your adrenaline fueled muscles are ready to fight throughout your whole body. But when you are feeling sad or lonely, your body experiences low energy levels. Compassion engages both the body and the emotions to match the state of being of another individual. God created your emotions to fuel your body in a certain direction to assist you in your service to Him and your care for others. Your body doesn’t get in the way of your spirit; your body enhances the vivacity of your spirit and enables it to interact in the physical world you live in.