Week 6 Discussion Board - Coursework Example

Expressing Emotions in the Christian Faith October 13, Expressing Emotions in the Christian Faith Emotions can affect our thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors (King, 2013). The Bible counsels us to control our negative emotions, express more positive emotions, and deepen our relationship with God and other human beings through loving God and His teachings. The Scripture wants people to show temperance in expressing their emotions. Proverbs 29:11 asserts the importance of self-control, especially in controlling our anger: “Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.

” The Bible says that wisdom promotes tolerance, not recklessness. In addition, the Bible indicates that people should express more positive, than negative, emotions. Proverbs 15:13 describes how emotions affect people’s states of being: “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.” People should choose happiness than heartaches because the latter are bad for the soul, while the former helps them have a happy life. Furthermore, emotions play a large role in relating to God and deepening our relationship with Him.

Proverbs 4:23 says: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” We must guard our heart and use our emotions in developing a better relationship with God. God does not want us to live by our emotions, however, because they are fickle and can lead us to evil. Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us that the heart is unreliable: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” God wants us to live by His Word, not by our emotions. The only passion that should guide our emotions is our love for God.

1 John 4:16 says: “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” God is love and His love will steer our emotions to the right directions. Expressing love that flows from God is an emotion that can deepen our relationship with Him and others around us. Hence, our emotions can be our means for expressing our love for God, while His love will help us in nurturing positive emotions in life.ReferencesBible. Retrieved from https://www.

biblegateway.com/King, L.A. (2013). Experience psychology (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN: 9780078035340.