Stepping Clear of the Emotional Trap

Do you ever let your emotions get the best of you? Aristotle told us long ago that people will respond with their emotions even when facts are more logical. The Bible says it this way: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). It’s true for me. I bet it’s true for you too. This is why advertisers and propagandists use emotional responses. They play our emotions so that we respond in particular ways. Emotions can be good things – love, joy, affection, but what happens when our emotions are used to manipulate us? 2020 has been filled with emotions. Between the pandemic and the riots, we’ve had a pretty emotional year. There is a philosophical term for how this emotional frenzy has evolved: Hegelian Dialectic. Here is how it works. A crisis is either used or created that usually pits one side against another. The reaction to this crisis is fueled so that emotions on both sides are stoked higher and higher, like adding fuel to a fire. (Notice how the emotions are used, not logic.) Then a response is created that will subdue the raging emotional fire, pushing one side further, while the other must concede. The response that is offered will be one that people would not have agreed to before, but because of the emotional turmoil, it is accepted and often a new normal is formed. Ultimately, the outcome is guided by the crisis-giver/revealer who had an intended goal all along. Sadly, the new normal has problems of its own so that the cycle continues allowing for more opportunities for crisis and further pushing. I’m sure you can see how the Hegelian Dialectic fashioned summer events. Mandating masks and defunding police are not things we would have considered in 2019. I share these physical events not to ruffle feathers, but to give you a clear picture because I would like to suggest that this philosophical idea of crisis-reaction-response first started in the spiritual realm, and is used by our enemy to lead us away from God. Consider Eve. In Genesis 1, God created the world and all the creatures, including man. In Genesis 2 God placed Adam over this new creation as a caretaker. Adam was given one rule: don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or you will die. When Eve encounters the serpent in Genesis 3, he poses a seemingly innocent question to Eve. It is meant to create a crisis: “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The serpent wants to draw attention to the one thing forbidden. Unaware of his game, she responds, “but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.” The crisis! She can’t eat from the tree! That’s terrible! And using an emotional appeal that fuels her need to feel included, the serpent offers a response: “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Eve wants to be like God. She wants to be wise. She wants to taste the fruit. And even though logic tells her not to do it, her emotions win. The serpent took the crisis, fueled her emotions, then pointed her to a response that appealed to her emotions, but led her away from God. Do you see how the serpent guided her response? The most pernicious thing about this whole encounter is that the enemy made it seem like he was helping her. Oh, the deceit! Our enemy, the devil, does this very same thing to us on a spiritual level. He takes a little crisis – an insult, a feeling of inadequacy, a bit of jealousy – and fuels the emotions. Maybe we ruminate on it or remember similar situations or some event adds to it. Whatever it is, his goal is to whip up our emotional reaction so that he can offer a deceitfully helpful response. And when the suggested response comes . . . we act on it. The response Satan offers is always counter-Christian because his goal is to lead you away from God. The crisis doesn’t matter as long as he moves you further from God to live in the flesh. Galatians 5 tells us that our flesh is against the Spirit: “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.” These responses are the things Satan offers to us as a quick fix to satisfy our emotions. Instead of this, Paul encourages us to walk by the Spirit for “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). But here is the thing – these responses are usually not a quick fix. We must choose the fruit of the Spirit, and that means overriding the flaming emotions and opting out of the provided responses. Paul says, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24-25). In other words, we have ignored those quick-fix fleshly fruits and offer forgiveness, mercy, and grace - things that go against our emotions. Oh, this is not easy! But as Christians, we offer them anyway because we are called to do this. This is walking in the Spirit. We grow His fruit one decision at a time. This is defeating our enemy because we chose to step out of the trap and follow our Lord Jesus Christ. When you are faced with an emotional situation whether it is personal, social, or political, don’t fall for the enemy’s tactics. If you know to look for the trap, you can step clear of it and avoid getting ensnared. All you need to do is see the situation for what it is – a ploy to lead you away from the Lord. Then you can rely on the wisdom God offers in His word, and the strength of the Holy Spirit within you to step clear and walk with Him. His grace is sufficient for you and His power is made perfect in your weakness. You have everything you need to overcome. Praise the Lord!