“He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28).
The “spirit” is the seat of the emotions, feelings, attitudes, and will. For the sake of simplicity, we will say the spirit is your emotions. If you cannot rule your emotions, your emotions will rule you. How devastating that would be. Like a broken-down, defenseless city being attacked from every side.
I believe this is one of the hardest areas of being a man. It is usually not the devil, the world, the flesh, other people, our wife, children, boss, fellow church members, or pastor that do us in – it is our inability to control our emotions and responses to these stimuli. Our own emotions kill us.
Think of the powerful emotions we must rule: pride, anger, lust, jealousy, envy, wrath, bitterness, impatience, hurt, rejection, grief, despondency, depression, fear.
When a man is overcome by an emotion, it can produce a action with irrevocable consequences. Notice the agony of a father talking about two sons who were unable to control themselves:
“Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.” (Genesis 49:5-7).
Think of Cain who slew Abel in a jealous rage over an offering. Think of Jacob’s sons who for envy sold their brother Joseph into slavery. Think of Moses who was prohibited from entering the promised land because he struck the rock twice in anger. Think of the 10 spies who sowed fear among the children of Israel and caused over 600,000 to die in the desert the next 40 years.
Think of Samson, whose passion for women quenched the Holy Spirit and left him a slave in the hands of the Philistines, grinding wheat with his eyes punched out. Think of Jonah, whose hatred for the Ninevites prevented him from enjoying the greatest Gentile revival in the Old Testament. Think of David, whose lust for a naked woman turned him into an adulterer and murderer, and cost him all moral credibility with his children.
Think of Demas, whose love for this present world led him to quit the ministry. Think of Judas, whose covetousness led him to suicide. Think of certain Jews, whose fear of the Pharisees caused them to keep Christ to themselves and not confess him openly.
Think of Peter, whose desire for acceptance prompted him to deny that he ever knew the Lord. Think of Paul and Barnabas, whose pride led them to a contention so sharp they never worked together again.
Think of yourself – did an uncontrolled emotion ever lead you to a behavior you regretted? To an irrevocable consequence? We must rule our emotions!
The secret is found in Christ’s example. It is said of Him that He “waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.” (Luke 2:40). The word “waxed” means “to empower, to be strengthened, to increase in vigor.”
As the Son of man, He focused on the spirit of man and knew He would need emotional strength to fulfil God’s will for His life. Jesus faced an emotional battle we know nothing of. Consider this prophecy about Him: “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:...” (Isaiah 53:3-4a).
Jesus was insulted, ridiculed, libeled, slandered, cursed, beaten, ignored, spit on, crucified and killed. Although this caused depths of emotions that we will never know, He controlled them and did not allow them to deter Him from God’s work.
Jesus came not only to save us, but also to heal our emotional maladies (See Luke 4:18). He can help our spirits. “The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.” (2 Timothy 4:22). Ask the Lord Jesus to help you become emotionally stronger.
Mature in your relationship with the Holy Spirit. The product of such maturity is listed in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” These all deal with the inward man. They bring stability to our emotions.
