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Welcome Back! Today, we’ll be looking at the Gospel of Luke to see how our emotions can blind us to compassion, reason, and even the truth.
So let’s dive in.
Luke 14:1–6
One Sabbath, Jesus went to eat in the home of a leading Pharisee, and those in attendance were watching Him closely. Right there before Him was a man with dropsy. So Jesus asked the experts in the law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they remained silent. Then Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him on his way. And He asked them, “Which of you whose son or ox falls into a pit on the Sabbath day will not immediately pull him out?” And they were unable to answer these questions.
My Thoughts
“They were unable to answer these questions” not because they were ignorant or uneducated. Their silence wasn’t due to some physical impediment. It wasn’t even the blinding flash of the obvious in Jesus’ questions. Their inability to answer such simple questions came from a deep seated set of character flaws. They weren’t even in the same mental space because of their anger, jealousy, contempt, arrogance, fear, shame, obsessions, extreme suspicion, and / or spite. In other words the religious leaders were such a hot mess of negative emotions they couldn’t even see straight. It was like the truth was from another planet. Common sense was completely alien to them. Sound familiar?
This is a tell tale sign of demonic influence straight from the pit. When people’s emotions become a runaway train and the only remedy is to kill the one telling the truth, we should recognize it for what it is. Satan has been using this tactic since Cain killed Abel.
The Apostle James spells this out clearly:
What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. (James 4:1-2)
All we have to do is watch the news or scroll through YouTube for fifteen minutes to see these venomous emotions at work in our culture today (and some offenders are professing Christians). Where the source of these destructive attitudes and behaviors come from the Tempter, the antidote comes from the opposite player, the Holy Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:22-24)
One who is indwelled by the Spirit and is submitting to His promptings should be exhibiting quite the opposite emotions that blind one to logic, reason, and the truth. This is a key part of character development, casting off the old and donning the new. And so it is a key part of our responsibility to help those we are mentoring to walk in the Spirit and to be transformed into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).
My Story
I was trying to remember a time where I was so mad, I couldn’t see straight. Immediately an event jumped into my head. I was a young buck sergeant and we were in the middle of a training exercise. We were to conduct a separate reconnaissance mission of two enemy positions and rendezvous at a prescribed time and place afterwards. Needless to say, this is the kind of thing where absolute stealth and secrecy were required. My patrol had finished and was waiting at the rendezvous point when I saw my guys in the other patrol walking across a wide open field in plain sight.
I was livid! These guys knew better as part of an elite reconnaissance unit not to take the “easy way.” They should have remained concealed for the whole mission. I stood on the hood of my jeep and started a tirade that lasted a good half hour and cussing a blue streak the whole time. It was just a training exercise but our actions should reflect those of what we were supposed to do in actual combat. And now comes the confession. I was a professing follower of Jesus at that time and my actions were supposed to match the actual faith I professed.
It’s ok to get angry and correct people who are in error. But to be so spitting mad that you lose all self control and act like a crazy person, that’s a no go. I’m thankful Jesus and my mentor were patient with me and helped me express my emotions in a much healthier way. For years now, I have been letting the fruit of the Spirit soak in and helping other men and women do the same.
Our Action Plan
Now it’s time for application. Here’s some questions and ideas:
- Self Check – Are you routinely allowing your emotions to boil over to the point you lose control?
- What character traits do you intentionally work on as you are discipling others?
- Make a list of the character traits Jesus worked on with His own disciples.
Jesus isn’t just concerned with our actions. He often talks about the heart, the inside. Our thoughts, motives, and attitudes matter. Let’s continue to listen to the Holy Spirit and be radically transformed on the inside as well as the outside.
Organic Writing – No Artificial Intelligence or Sweeteners Added
| Gospel Sync | Kingdom Kernels | On the Road Podcast | Website |
