Control Your Emotions (1)

Cain, Why are you angry?
Genesis 4:6

Unless you learn to discipline your emotions you'll lose credibility,alienate others, and miss great opportunities.
Your emotions are like a car: properly understood and directed it can take you places; out of control it can destroy you.
When God asked Cain, "Why are you angry with your brother?" He was saying: "Listen up, Cain! Your emotions are sending you a message. If you don't get a handle on this you'll create a mess you won't be able to live with. Yes, you'll repent and regret it, but you won't be able to undo it." But Cain wouldn't listen. The situation seemed unfair; he felt unappreciated. He thought his brother's blessing had come at his expense.
What emotions were at work here? Jealousy. Resentment. Competitiveness. A sense of victimhood. These uncheckedf orces caused him to murder his brother Abel and cross a line he couldn't come back from.

Most of us have an inner response mechanism that isn't necessarily controlled by the rational side of our brain. It reacts to people and events, and like a sudden storm rises with strength from within, sometimes overwhelming us. Gordon McDonald writes: "I used to pride myself on the fact that I kept my emotions to myself. I never saw myself as an angry person... Then I got married and my wife informed me that I had plenty of anger after all. While it rarely came out in words it showed itself in full colour in facial expressions (the gift of glare,we called it) I never knew I had. I had work to do. I had emotions that needed to be disciplined." How about you?