So, somebody said something you didn’t like and it made you so mad that you punched something and broke your hand?

I’m going to tell you something else that will probably make you mad (but I’m safely out of reach so I’m not worried). You are enslaved by your emotions and if you don’t break free, your whole life will be pain and suffering.

You’ve been told to embrace your passions and live as your authentic self. This is terrible advice. Your authentic self broke your hand in a fit of rage. Instead of embracing your passions, you should master them. Of course, this is impossible without God’s help.

“John, you pompous jerk! God gave me my emotions! If I didn’t have my passions, I’d be a cold, loveless machine like you!!!”

Please notice that I didn’t say, “Get rid of all your emotions.” I said give your emotions to God. You are no more able to eliminate your emotions than you are able to control them.

Unless the Spirit is filtering your feelings, they cannot be trusted. What you call ‘love’ is probably ‘lust.’ What you call ‘righteous anger’ is just selfish ‘indignation.’ What you call ‘guarding your heart’ is actually ‘bitterness.’ To put it simply, you don’t understand your nature. You need supernatural help.

The Spirit of God can overcome your fleshly passions. When the Spirit takes charge, you can get angry without breaking bones. You can experience disappointment without falling apart. You can endure suffering with dignity and grace. When you are controlled by God’s Spirit, you will have peace that passes understanding.

(Galatians 5:16) So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.