AVOIDING* THE HALL OF MIRRORS
OR ESCAPING
CHAPTER 8
Quick and Slow + Unrestrained Emotion: Hazardous (1|2)
Pages 99-104 (end reading at: …what to do with the book of Psalms?!)
1 Samuel 20:30-34 (ESV) Saul’s explosive anger toward Jonathan is read on page 101.
1 Samuel 18:10-11 (ESV) Saul’s explosive anger toward David is read on page 101.
James 1:19-25 (NIV) My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
“Learning how to listen well is, for most of us, a lifelong and repeated lesson. People know when they are being heard properly, and it’s very honouring; it’s one of the ways we love well.” If you were to rate yourself as a listener on a scale of 1 to 10, what number would you give yourself? If someone else rated you, would the number be different?
“Some Christian traditions are very nervous about bringing emotion into the life of faith. - This approach betrays a fundamental mistrust of human emotion. - Other traditions will go the other way, with little regard to the potential danger of excessive emotion. These brothers and sisters will often equate emotion with spirituality; the more there is, the better, meaning passion and volume are seen as chief indicators of God’s presence among His people.” What have been your church's emotive experiences, more restrained or more backflips down the center aisle?
“While I maintain that emotions are positive and part of God’s good design, given the wider cultural backdrop, the danger is currently towards emotionalism. As believers, surely the ideal is for the truth to govern our lives in such a way that our emotions are healthily impacted and shaped by it, rather than either using our emotions to try to arrive at the truth, or alternatively stifling all emotion.” What is your response to this statement?