Emotions pt 1 | What were our emotions originally designed to be - More to The Story - Episode 4
Emotions pt 1 | What were our emotions originally designed to be
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Emotions. We all have them. We were designed with them.
God gave them to us in the very beginning. But what did he plan for our emotions to be? Let's explore that today. Recently, I began to think about emotions.
I think about them often because we are all feeling some kind of emotion every single day, whether it's good or bad, or a mixture of both. And I began to wonder, what exactly did the very first evidence of emotions come to be in the Bible? Also, I think it warrants, once we look at those first emotions, that those emotions should be the emotions that we aspire to have. And once Adam and Eve were removed from the garden, what emotions did they have then? And how do we get back to having the emotions from the garden? So first of all, they only had good emotions.
We know that. But let's read, um, let's start in Genesis 1. Now, let me encourage you, as always, to read everything in its full context. I am skipping around for time's sake, although I may be reading a little more than normal today, because I want you to get a fuller picture here.
And I know sometimes when I begin to read a scripture, you think, now where, what does this have to do with it? But it always goes somewhere, and it ties together. So right now, I am reading from the Amplified Bible, Genesis 1, and I am on 20, verse 26.
God said, let us, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, make mankind in our image, after our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame beasts, and over all the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth.
Verse 27. So God created man in his own image, in the image and likeness of God. He created him male and female.
He created them. Now, then we skip over here to Genesis 2, 1. Then the Lord formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life. The man became a living being, and the Lord God planted a garden toward the east in Eden, which means delight.
And there he put the man whom he had formed, framed, and constituted. Let me stop for just a moment there. Often when we visualize Genesis and the creation, we get a picture in our head of the Garden of Eden, and that God created Adam and Eve within the garden.
But he created all of creation. He created it lush and green. He created it beautiful.
He created it perfect, all of it, the entire thing. Then he planted a special garden just for Adam and Eve, after he had created Adam. So let's read that again, thinking about that.
Then the Lord formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils. And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east in Eden. And there he put the man whom he had formed.
I think that's really special. I know this isn't necessarily on the path of emotions, but if we are truly created in the likeness and image of God, which we just read, that compassion, that love that he had for mankind, first of all, the pattern he used was himself. The very best pattern that he had to give.
So he created Adam and Eve off of the pattern of himself. Everything about him, of man, was patterned after God. So his emotions, here we go, we're talking about emotions finally, his emotions were in Adam and Eve.
His love for Adam is displayed when here he's created the entire world, beautiful, wonderful, lush. And now he's taken and he's created a very special garden just for Adam and Eve. I think that is one of the most overlooked things.
When we talk about God, we say, oh yes, God loves us in the famous John 3, 16 verse, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Yes, that is absolutely outstanding. But from the very beginning, God never had ulterior motives.
God created man because he wanted man. He loved man from the very beginning. So as soon as he created him, he said, this gorgeous creation that I've made isn't good enough.
We have to have something really special. It would be like, you know, having a house with a beautiful yard, and then all of a sudden you come along and say, okay, right here in this back corner, I'm going to make something really spectacular. And so that's what he did.
And he put Adam and Eve there. And that kind of love is all-encompassing. Stumbling over my words there, sorry.
But that kind of love is a love that we can relate to maybe more than giving away our son. I can't hardly wrap my head around that one. That one's too far outside of my wheelhouse.
I have two sons, and I have many grandsons and great-grandsons. So to try to wrap my head around that is difficult. I know it's big.
I know it's huge. I know it's far beyond anything I could do. But I can wrap my head around loving one of my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren.
I can wrap my head around wanting to create something super special just for them. A place just for them to live in. It was their home, and it was the best of the best.
Okay, so there was one of our first emotions. It wasn't from Adam and Eve, but it was from God. After he had surveyed everything and said, it's good, it's good.
So let's hop down. So verse 15 of Genesis 2 says, And the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend, guard, and keep it. Not as a slave.
Not as a, okay, I've given you this. Now you got to take care of it kind of deal. But let's face it, we all need something to do.
And so he made this fantastic garden. And then he put him in it, and he said, okay, now you can tend it and care for it. And let's face it, at this point there were no weeds.
At this point things didn't die the way they do now. So it was almost like saying, oink, oink, I'm going to give you this garden to tend to. And how easy that would have been.
And Adam would have been in this lavish garden, and he would have flourished tending to these plants and these animals. So now let's hop over to Genesis 3 and go to verse 6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good, this is the tree of good and evil that God said don't eat of that tree. Now that's a whole other discussion to wonder why did he even put it in there in the first place? But we're not going to go there today.
That's a rabbit hole I don't want to go down today. When woman saw that the tree was good, pleasant for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate. Up until this point we only had love, we had there was points of respect, there was delight, because this is before she ate of that tree.
So anything that is good and positive, also they were naked as babies, and they didn't have a clue. There was zero shame, absolutely zero shame. So if you can think of any good emotion, that's what they were feeling and experiencing and living in.
They were in the midst of feeling God emotions. Anything that God feels that is positive and rich and nourishing, that's what Adam and Eve were experiencing until then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed thick leaves together and made themselves apron-like girdles. Immediately, immediately shame came.
Isn't that just like the enemy? The very first emotion he piles on when anything goes awry is shame. God never ever ever brings shame, and I want to get this distinction out there very clearly. If you're feeling shame about something you've done or something that you feel you are, God didn't put that emotion on you.
He didn't put that mantle or that burden on you. That was put on you by the enemy. That was put on you by Satan.
So go to God and say, hey, I feel shamed and shameful, and have a conversation with him. Lay it down at his feet because that feeling is not conviction from the Lord. It is not conviction from the Lord.
Shame and guilt are from the enemy. When God disciplines or he corrects, he convicts, which is a very different feeling, but it doesn't feel burdensome the way shame and guilt feel. Okay, and they heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees in the garden, but the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, where are you? Now they're hiding from God, and I think God must have felt, oh, I wish this had lasted longer.
I wish that it hadn't happened so soon. We don't know how quickly it did happen. It could have taken a long time, but he knew when it happened, he must have felt a sense of, no, my beloved, my beloved humans have ate of the tree of good and evil.
He said, and this is verse 10, I heard the sound of you, this is Adam speaking, I heard the sound of you walking in the garden, and I was afraid. Okay, so the enemy has put shame on him. Now he's putting fear in him, and we'll see, we'll see here quickly that even at this point of having taken of that tree, being disobedient to God, there still is no reason to fear him.
He loves them that much, and I was afraid because I was naked and hid myself. So he told them they were naked when they disobeyed God, and they chose to follow the enemy. His advice, that disobedience dropped the scales from their eyes, and they saw that they were naked, and they were ashamed and fearful.
And God said, who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree which I commanded that you should not eat? Now you know God knew, but for Adam's benefit, they're going to have conversation about it. And the man said, that woman whom you gave to me, she gave me the fruit. From the tree, and I ate.
That woman. We see here resentment toward Eve. We see rejection of Eve.
It's like, oh, get her away from me. That woman, that woman, that's rejection and resentment, because without her, he thinks he would have never eaten from that tree. And the Lord God said to the woman, what is this that you have done? And the woman said, oh, it's the serpent.
You know, it's the old blame game. We all do it. The serpent beguiled, which is cheated, outwitted, and deceived me, and I ate.
She confessed it. I did it. I did it, but the devil made me do it.
Okay, so let's go over to Genesis 4, 4. And we're skipping ahead a little here for for time's sake. And Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock, and of the fat portions. And the Lord had respect and regard for Abel, and for his offering.
But for Cain and his offering, he had no respect or regard. So Cain was exceedingly angry and indignant. There we got with some more emotions there.
And he looked sad and depressed. Okay, so there is a lot of discussion in this day and age about our mental health, and sadness, and depression. And the world tries to solve this through medication or counseling.
There is a place for those. If you do not know the Lord and all of that, and maybe you do know the Lord, you still need those medications. Maybe you've got a physical imbalance.
I am not here to cast shade on anyone. But Abel did what was right. He followed what the Lord asked.
He did not have sadness and depression. And he had no reason to be angry. But Cain did.
And it all came from not doing what he was supposed to do. I believe we intrinsically know what we're supposed to do. And if we don't do it, there's just some kind of itch in our soul we can't scratch that causes us to be sad and depressed.
Because we're like on the bumpy road. We got off the paved road. Now it's just bumpy, and life's not right.
The wheels are off the track. And the Lord said to Cain, why are you angry? And why do you look sad and depressed and dejected? If you do well, will you not be accepted? Here we go. If you just do the right thing.
This is a cute little story. And when my kids were growing up, I know my older two say that my youngest is my favorite. And he was.
He was a good child. I love them all dearly. But he was such a joy to be around.
And if I said take the trash out, he got up. He took the trash out. If I said do this, he got up.
He did it. He never argued with me. And he didn't delay.
I didn't have to ask him 15 times. And one I can remember, we were all three in the kitchen. The youngest was sitting at the table eating something.
I don't know, bowl of cereal or something. The other two were standing up. Now this is high school years.
And there's only four years difference from the oldest to the youngest with my girl in the middle. And so my oldest was probably a senior maybe, senior in high school. And so my daughter I think was a junior.
And that would have put my youngest freshman, I'm thinking maybe. And they were mad. The oldest two were mad.
And they were going on and on about this and on and on about that. And I have no clue what. I cannot remember.
But they were mad at my youngest. And he was just calmly sitting there. They had gotten in trouble.
And they were either getting grounded or disciplined. And the youngest just sat there and sat there. And he was listening to it.
I don't think they were mad at him at that point. And so he was just, you know, eating his cereal. And all of a sudden he said, well, if you just do what mama tells you to do, you wouldn't get in trouble.
Oh my goodness. They both just huffed and puffed and spun around and took off. And isn't that exactly what we're seeing here? Well, if you just do what daddy says, you wouldn't get in trouble.
So let's read verse 7 again. This is in Genesis 4, 7. And it says this again. If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door.
Its desire is for you, but you must master it. So sin and disobedience seem to be parallel, partnered, attached to each other. So then let's jump down to verse 9. And the Lord said to Cain, where is Abel your brother? See, this is another question he already knows the answer to, just like in the garden.
And he said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper? Well, I see a little arrogance in there. I see a little attitude in there.
So if we go over, whoops, I think that was the last one in Genesis. No, Genesis 4, down in verse 15. And I skipped down to here because this was very interesting.
And the Lord said to him, therefore, so he had marked Cain. Now there's a whole big debate there on how they marked him. Some people say that he put a brand on his forehead, but Hebrew scholars say, no, we don't think it was that.
We think that it was some kind of an illness like leprosy or boils or something. Still yet, other people said it was a horn, that he grew a horn. Others say that he had like a pet dog that keeps people awake.
The whole thing was that God wanted to put something on Cain that was so repulsive, it kept people away and they wouldn't kill him. So I'm not sure where they got the horn or the pet dog that barked and kept people away, but there is something they've studied that brought that to light. But the Lord said, therefore, if anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.
Now this is the interesting part. And if the Lord set a mark or sign upon Cain, lest anyone find him should kill him. Okay, here we go.
This is verse 16. So Cain went away from the presence of the Lord. And dwelt in the land of Nod, which means wandering east of Eden.
So God went with them. God's home was not Eden. God lived with man.
And when he put Adam and Eve out of the garden, he went with them. The presence of God was there with them. The presence of God was with Cain and Abel.
And yet, even though they were there in the presence of God, seeing the face of God on a daily basis, and that face means presence of God. He still chose to disobey. He still chose his own way.
He still chose to be disobedient. And then he got mad because of the consequences. And I see this a lot today.
People want to do what they want to do. And then everything goes to, excuse my French, hell in a handbasket. And then they're mad at God.
When he said all along, if you do well, will you not be accepted? And he's talking about by me. He's given us, it's as it says, I have set before you life and death. Choose life.
So I see this so much. People are angry, angry, angry right now. That is an emotion of the enemy when it's that entrenching you.
Yes, God has become angry. That was an emotion. He exercised, repented over, and it's a rare, rare thing to see God angry.
Jesus turned the tables over in the temple because he was angry that the house of the Lord had been corrupted and defiled. So there is, on a rare occasion, acceptable righteous anger. But many people have just said, oh, it's just righteous anger.
My anchor's righteous anger. I'm have righteous anger. No, we can't co-opt that and use that as an excuse.
Anger for the most part, if it's not truly righteous anger, it is an emotion of the enemy. And if we're feeling angry, if we're feeling anger, feeling angry at God, is it not because we did not do well? We were not obedient. And we're going to see here in a little bit the answer to that.
I wanted to insert something here. It says in Ephesians 4, 26, let me read it here. Be angry in brackets at sin, at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior, yet do not sin.
Do not let your anger cause you shame nor allow it to last until the sun goes down. So again, here they are talking about righteous anger. They are talking about being angry at sin, immorality, injustice, at ungodly behavior.
So I wanted to insert this definition of righteous anger so that we could get it in there, but it is not talking about be angry at just anything. We're not to be angry at just anything. Injustice, yes, we should be angry at injustice.
But do not sin. I just wanted to insert that in there. So I wanted, that was one thing I wanted to bring out was that God went with them.
I think sometimes we feel like God stayed in the garden with them, or in the garden like that was his home. But that was a special place he created for Adam. And when they left, when he put them out, he went with them.
Okay, so what is the answer to that? Let's, ah, here we go. Let's go over to Galatians 5. Be sure and check out part two where we learn how to manage our emotions so that our life can be peaceful and joyful. Thank you for listening.
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