Lessons from Joseph’s life – Part 1

Joseph is the eleventh son of Jacob and the eldest of the two sons of Rachel; Gen: 30:24; and his name means “God-adds”.

The story of Joseph is one of the best known tales in the Bible. The events of Joseph's life are also found in the Torah. Today it is perhaps most associated with the West End and Sunday school. Written down by scribes about 1000 years after the events supposedly took place, it is often thought that the story may have some historical tradition, but with a healthy portion of dramatic license. Egyptologists, however, have uncovered some intriguing evidence. The story begins in Canaan - modern day Palestine, Syria and Israel - around 1600 to 1700 BC. Joseph was 11th of 12 sons of a wealthy nomad Jacob and his second wife Rachel. His story is told in the book of Genesis 37-50.¹

Joseph (Hebrew: יוֹסֵף ‎, Standard Yosef Tiberian Yôsēp̄; "May Yahweh add";^[1] Arabic: يوسف‎, Yūsuf) is an important person in the Hebrew Bible: his story connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

The Book of Genesis tells that Joseph was the 11th of Jacob's 12 sons and Rachel's firstborn,^[2] and tells how Joseph came to be sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, and rose to become the second most powerful man in Egypt next to Pharaoh. When famine struck Canaan, Jacob (Joseph's father) and Joseph's brothers came to the Land of Goshen in Egypt.²

 Genesis 37: 1-4

·         Joseph was seventeen years old and was a shepherd. He did not participate in his brothers’ misconducts and he brought reports of their mischief to his father.

·         He was the favorite of Jacob and his father loved him more than all his brothers. Jacob made a coat of many colors for him and his brothers hated him for this reason and they were envious of Joseph.

·         Joseph was rather naive to tell his dreams to his brothers about his future supremacy and his brothers’ submission to him. That intensified their hatred towards him. So, when the opportunity came at Dothan, they planned to kill him. But Rueben tried to rescue him by persuading them not to kill him. His brothers sold him to the caravan of Ishmaelite on their travel to Egypt. His life was changed in a moment, from being the beloved son to the slave in an unknown land, Egypt.

If we read Genesis 37:1-50; we understand that as a young shepherd, Joseph brought bad reports about his brothers to his father. Jacob his father loved Joseph as his favorite son and this overt favoritism towards Joseph brought his older brothers to resent him. His older brothers’ continuous resentment towards Joseph spiraled towards hatred and to the point of cruel dealings towards Joseph. Joseph’s continuous dreams and prophetic visions were a source of contempt to his family. Joseph exposed to his family the dream that he will be ruling over his family and this brought a huge concern for his brothers and they plotted to kill him; Gen: 37:11-15. God was with Joseph and He used Reuben, to object the murder, and instead Joseph was sold as a slave to a high ranking Potiphar. Joseph’s own brothers deceived their father and made him to believe that his favorite son was slained by wild beasts; Gen: 37:18-35. This is a cruel real narrative but we see the Hand of God throughout and is a narrative to marvel how God fulfills His purposes. 

Probably at this point Joseph knew the pain of mental and spiritual woundedness. Just like the life of Job, here the scene through the story of Joseph is opened for us to see the Divine purposes in the whole matter of Joseph’s following afflictions seen in the story. There is a drastic change in his life, from a favorite son of his father to be the slave of high influential Potiphar.

One can safely assume that portions of his nature and character which could have remained undeveloped at home will be developed when he is far away from the comfort zone of his home. God can use adverse circumstances as means of developing godly character in any person’s life. God had great work for Joseph to do and He has taken him to be under the influence of Potiphar. In the following chapters we see that Joseph under the influence of highly civilized people and learning about arts, law, and government unlike the prospects in Canaan.

Life application
It is a great comfort to know that God is able to rule over all that is evil and fulfill His purposes in a person’s life if we are in His will. God is able to use the evil which men do in such a way to defeat their plans and bring forth that is good. Selfishness can be like a manure or a fertilized soil in which all wrong things and evil passions flourish. Envy is a non-organic illness which is diabolical because envy offers nothing but torment; other sins may yield some short term pleasure but who can stand before envy? If a crime is committed when one is envious this could eventually bring lifelong sorrow to the one who commits and also to many other persons. Sins are social and crime begets crime; envy, hatred, resentment, fear, bitterness, lying, murder, and unkindness are all seen in the above story. The inspiration and encouragement we see for our disappointing hours are there seen in the life of Joseph. Joseph could see no other way in his captivity as a slave which could work for him; but he was faithful for his master and for His God. Explore with me the life of Joseph in the second part.

End Notes:

1. BBC - Religions - Judaism: Joseph

    www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/joseph.shtml

   The Bible tells us that Joseph and Benjamin are the sons of Jacob's second ... However some new scientific evidence helps to   support the case of a historical Joseph.

2. Joseph (son of Jacob) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_(son_of_Jacob)

For the New Testament Joseph, ... There have been many attempts to trace the story's redaction history ... In the Bible, Joseph discloses himself to his ...

Website References:

1. What should we learn from the life of Joseph?

www.gotquestions.org/life-Joseph.html

... as we learn from the account of Joseph’s life, by remaining faithful and accepting that God is ultimately in charge, we can be confident that God will reward ...

2. Lessons From Joseph - Article - Andrew Wommack Ministries

www.awmi.net/extra/article/lessons_joseph

How many of life’s lessons have you ... Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were ... I produced a series called Lessons from Joseph.

3. What should we learn from the life of Jacob?

www.gotquestions.org/life-Jacob.html

What should we learn from the life of Jacob? ... What should we learn from the life of Joseph? What should we learn from the life of Elisha?

4. Joseph in the Bible: Character Study

bibleseo.com/old-testament/joseph-bible-character-study

What can we learn about Joseph in the bible? ... Lessons learnt from Life of Joseph: God’s plans and purpose are greater and better than ours!

5.-Lessons From The Life Of Joseph |

tafj.org/2009/12/24/lessons-from-the-life-of-joseph

Lessons From The Life Of Joseph. As we consider ... viewpoints are opportunities for us to learn from ... the life of Joseph, we will find our hearts ...

6. BBC - Religions - Judaism: Joseph

www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/joseph.shtml

The Bible tells us that Joseph and Benjamin are the sons of Jacob's second ... However some new scientific evidence helps to support the case of a historical Joseph.

7.Joseph (son of Jacob) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_(son_of_Jacob)

For the New Testament Joseph, ... There have been many attempts to trace the story's redaction history ... In the Bible, Joseph discloses himself to his ...

Book References:

1. Allender, Dan and Tremper Longman III. Intimate Allies. Carol Stream.: Tyndale House publishers, 1995.

2. Jay E. Adams. Critical Stages of Biblical Counseling, Finishing Well, Breaking Through, Getting Started.  New Jersey: Zondervan, 2002.
3. Jay E. Adams. How to Help People Change, The Four-step Biblical Process. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986.
4. John F. MacArthur, JR. Wayne A. Mack & The Master’s College Faculty. Introduction To Biblical Counseling, A Basic Guide To The Principles And Practice Of Counseling. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1994.
5. Jay E. Adams. Lectures on Counseling. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978, p.192-203.

6. The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Women of Destiny Bible. Women Mentoring women Through the Scriptures, A Spirit Filled Life Bible. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982.
7. Allender, Dan and Tremper Longman III. Intimate Allies. Carol Stream: Tyndale House publishers, 1995; pgs, 301, 346.

8. Allender, Dan and Tremper Longman III. Intimate Allies. Carol Stream: Tyndale House publishers, 1995; pg331.

9. David A. Norris. Lasting Success; Quality Decisions, Relationships and Untamed Emotions. Ames, Iowa: Alpha Heartland Press, 2003.

 

Gender Roles- a Glimpse

Then God said “Let us make human kind in our image according to our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the wild animals of the earth.” So God created humankind in His image. In the image of God He created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth”; Gen: 1:26-28.

¹⁸ And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. ¹⁹ And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature that was the name thereof. ²⁰ And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him.

²¹ And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; ²² And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. ²³ And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. ²⁴ Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. ²⁵ And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed; Gen 2:18-25.

Outline of creation

1. God created man first from dust of the earth (2:7)

2. God created women second from Adam, and unlike the rest of creation, the woman is taken from other creation, not nature (2:22)

3. Adam names woman Eve (2:23)

4. Man/wife relationship reason for man to leave his family to be with wife (2:24)

In Genesis 3, we find that sin enters in and the gender roles begin to mix up when man and woman began to sin together. In the cool of the day when God comes to them, He calls for Adam and for the first time he began to feel ashamed before the Holy God, and also shifted the blame on the woman for his disobedience. The curses given to man and woman separately was for all mankind, and the emphasis of the curse was different for man from the woman. If I could brief up the curses, we find that for the man, God talks about the difficulty in his work, and for the woman difficulty of her relationship, especially with her family; husband and children.

5. Satan tempts Eve to disobey (3:1)

6. Eve brings Adam into the matter (3:6)

7. Women are cursed because of Eve's actions (3:16)

8.   Men are cursed because of Adam's actions (3:1)

In understanding relationships it is important to understand the physical and emotional differences typical to men and women; and we have to keep in mind that men and women are wired differently. One should be very aware not to clone the emotional nature of the other person and this will be a huge mistake because God made us to be different. It is very important to keep the main goal as to attentively communicate with each other and expose from each perspective the issues that come along, very carefully. This is very important especially in a marriage relationship and the merging perspective is often a better one than the conclusion of just the man's or the woman's initial opinion.

Masculine: In general very strong physically, more realistic, logical, objective, literal, aggregate thinker, slow to judgement, and doers or very task oriented.
Feminine: In general are physically weaker, more idealistic, intuitive, subjective to feelings, tangential, grasps details, quick to judgement, and very family oriented.
In general one can say: there are two worlds in our thought life impacting decisions. One is the world of objective reality, and the other is the world of subjective world of imaginations. The world of imaginations includes speculating on the intent and motives of others and when unguarded imaginations inflict havoc and one had to be really careful.

Having said the above and the different wiring for male and female it was observed that in the realm of objective reality, the wife has an indispensable role. It is observed and research has shown that men find their wives often have better judgement in matters of detail. This is a gift of God, and that should not be despised, because it will be like despising the Giver of all gifts. There are many examples in the Bible which shows that men and women are different in the way they deal things, but they are empowered by God differently and uniquely to accomplish God’s purposes in this earth. For example if Moses's father is insensitive to the detail as many men are and had woven the basket that floated baby Moses, the child could have drowned!

“But these lapses [of being in love while married] will not destroy a marriage between two "decent and sensible" people. The couple whose marriage will certainly be endangered by them, and possibly ruined, are those who have idolized Eros. They thought he had the power and truthfulness of a god. They expected that mere feeling would do for them, and permanently, all that was necessary. When this expectation is disappointed they throw the blame on Eros or, more usually, on their partners. In reality, however, Eros, having made his gigantic promise and shown you in glimpses what its performance would be like, has "done his stuff." He, like a godparent, makes the vows; it is we who must keep them. It is we who must labor to bring our daily life into even closer accordance with what the glimpses have revealed. We must do the works of Eros when Eros is not present. This all good lovers know, though those who are not reflective or articulate will be able to express it only in a few conventional phrases about "taking the rough along with the smooth," not "expecting too much," having "a little common sense," and the like. And all good Christian lovers know that this programme, modest as it sounds, will not be carried out except by humility, charity and divine grace; that it is indeed the whole Christian life seen from one particular angle”. C.S Lewis.-The Four Loves, p. 114-115.

Wise men respect the view of their wives and respect their wives' talents, and when they listen to their wives' talents they gain better perspectives and often gain superior understanding. It is also important that husbands speak to their wives in softer tone and even when spoken in kindness loud words can be misconstrued and they seem heavier to a women’s heart than men. This is how they are wired and the Bible says they are weaker vessels. In the subjective realm of imagination and speculation their roles are reversed. Men in general have the God given capacity and responsibility to be a sponge that diffuses the speculation of their wives. Some times when the husband says to his wife we will wait on the Lord, it will be wiser and safer for her to respectfully listen to him. Below are some quotes from C.S Lewis to think through for God’s glory and for the blessing of humanity.

“Christian writers (notably Milton) have sometimes spoken of the husband's headship with a complacency to make the blood run cold. We must go back to our Bibles. The husband is the head of the wife just in so far as he is to her what Christ is to the Church. He is to love her as Christ loved the Church—read on—and give his life for her” (Eph. V, 25).- C.S Lewis. -The Four Loves, p. 105

“The sternest feminist need not grudge my sex the crown offered to it either in the Pagan or in the Christian mystery. For the one is of paper and the other of thorns”. - C.S Lewis. -The Four Loves, p. 106

If we look at the world we often can tremble at the things which are happening and both believers and non-believers are equally shocked and divided over gender roles and there is a craving for everyone for a safety net. When the Word of God talks about gender roles it is focused on Church and the family and that is my focus here. Starting from business, to politics, healthcare, law enforcement, science, research and development, art and education, there is no safety net for repentance and forgiveness when one hurt the other. There is no covenantal commitment outside the church and the family and indeed church and family offers that safety net which will free us. Because of Christ and Church relationship as is written in the Word of God and in Eph: 5:21-33; the safety net will free us to swing this trapeze with confidence. If one member falls, the body of believers will be there to catch us and will help those who are weak to climb up and move forward once again.  

Men and women are a team of separate but necessary for smooth functioning and if they would dance together for the common goal that will be amazing. This is almost like two wings of an aeroplane not the same but corresponding beautifully and taking people to different destinations. My question here would be which wing is more important? I would say we need them both to play their separate roles for the common cause.

“In regular society we are all people, citizens, soldiers, employees, gender neutral descriptions.  We march in lockstep wearing the uniforms of our social or political status.  What a gift it is, then, to come into the home or the church and done our ball gowns and tuxedos.  Some of us dance forward, some of us dance backward.  This is a gift from God not to be despised or to be taken lightly”. - C.S. Lewis. 

Book Reference:

1. Allender, Dan and Tremper Longman III. Intimate Allies. Carol Stream.: Tyndale House publishers, 1995.

2. Jay E. Adams. Critical Stages of Biblical Counseling, Finishing Well, Breaking Through, Getting Started.  New Jersey: Zondervan, 2002.
3. Jay E. Adams. How to Help People Change, The Four-step Biblical Process. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986.
4. John F. MacArthur, JR. Wayne A. Mack & The Master’s College Faculty. Introduction To Biblical Counseling, A Basic Guide To The Principles And Practice Of Counseling. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1994.
5. Jay E. Adams. Lectures on Counseling. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978, p.192-203.

6. The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Women of Destiny Bible. Women Mentoring women Through the Scriptures, A Spirit Filled Life Bible. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982.
7. Allender, Dan and Tremper Longman III. Intimate Allies. Carol Stream: Tyndale House publishers, 1995; pgs, 301, 346.

8. Allender, Dan and Tremper Longman III. Intimate Allies. Carol Stream: Tyndale House publishers, 1995; pg331.

9. David A. Norris. Lasting Success; Quality Decisions, Relationships and Untamed Emotions. Ames, Iowa: Alpha Heartland Press, 2003.

Website Reference:

1. Gender Roles in the Bible | Wanderings Toward Truth ...

williamsofield.wordpress.com/2007/11/02/gender-roles-in-the-bible

2007-11-02 · When the Bible talks about gender roles, it only talks about them in the context of family and church. ... think that from a biblical perspective, ...

2. Gender Roles In A Biblical Perspective For The Orthodox ...

www.orthodoxherald.com/2010/06/12/gender-roles-in-a-biblical...

Gender Roles In A Biblical Perspective For The Orthodox Christians In The American Context. Written By: Fr. Dr. Jacob Mathew on Jun 12th, 2010 and filed under ...

3. ::: www.2Timothy42.org :: Gender Issues from a Biblical ...

www.2timothy42.org/Resources/essay.php?EssayID=5

Gender Issues from a Biblical Perspective: A Response to Evangelical Feminism. When dealing with the historical relationships between the church and gender, ...

The True Identity

    No other parable in the Bible is so clear in showing the design of God for our true identity as it is in the parable of the prodigal son written in Lk: 15:11-32. If we carefully study this parable, this shows the tremendous love the earthly father had towards his lost son, and this indirectly points us toward the love of our heavenly Father.

¹¹ And he said, A certain man had two sons: ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. The younger son is one of the main character who asks his father for his inheritance while his father was alive because he wanted to leave home and as the story unfolds we find that he leaves home.

 ¹³ And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. ¹⁴ And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. ¹⁵ And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶ And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. The younger son represents the sinners, and the tax collectors who do not want to identify with the Father in heaven, and they must be in the world to find their true identity which is their hope and an illusion. We find that the younger son disillusioned himself in the process of finding his true identity, and when the real famine struck he was bankrupt and deserted by his good friends. When he was forced to work as a Gentile, in that process he began to find his true identity and began to realize that he would find himself when he has a true relationship with his father. This portion of this story makes one realize that apart from having a loving relationship with the heavenly Father one cannot find true identity and any other attempt to find himself would be utterly futile.

¹⁷ And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, ¹⁹ And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. ²⁰ And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. ²² But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: ²³ And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: ²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

²⁵ Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. ²⁶ And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. ²⁷ And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. The elder son who was faithful and by his father’s side comes to the picture in these verses, when the younger brother arrived after wasting his wealth in the misadventures in a distant land. Indeed the older brother reacted in anger and fury when a feast was prepared for the younger brother. He was angry and concerned for his younger brother’s quick acceptance into his home.  

²⁸ And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. ²⁹ And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: ³⁰ But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

 ³¹ And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. ³² It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

    From the above story we gain insight into the identity quest of the older brother. The older brother has never protested to his father’s command and he thought his identity was in his performance, and his main goal was to be a dutiful son, and he definitely thought his worth was in the work he performed. Here gain we find that like his prodigal brother he did not understand his true identity and could not understand that his true self will be found in a proper relationship with his father. Below is a graphic picture of the restoration of a true identity and the above story is explained.   

One can stretch our imaginations and picture how the father would have responded to the lost son’s arrival. Probably he would have ran down the road, lifting the front garment in his hand so, he would not trip and fall down. It is the real compassion of God the Father demonstrated by the love of an earthly father. We have to note the father accepted the son, embraced him in spite of his tattered clothes, down cast face and the rebellion still residing in him. It was the father who dictated the terms of their relationship by the signet ring which bear the family mark, and the best clothing.  

What is separation from the world?
    The separation between the ways of God and man is covered in the doctrine of separation. Be not deceived- this includes: spiritual and emotional health for lasting success requires God honoring separation from the ways of the world. Those who buy the idea of if something is good, that can be adopted into daily life practice are opening their minds to compromise to the world pattern. This includes even clergy and others who participate in teaching ministries with evangelicals who teach anything in contrary to God's Word. Word of caution: they could even pay very high spiritual price that could run through families for many generations!!!!

    Sin and temptations are threats to our true identity in Christ. By sinning continuously we push ourselves away from the true relationship with Jesus and His church. We temporarily renounce who we are just like the prodigal in this story. The attacks of the enemy comes in various format in this world to conform us to its pattern, in order to destroy our true identity in Christ. But, we have a hope and good news because of what God has done through His obedient Son Jesus Christ on the Cross. Jesus has taught us that by returning to God, one can find the true identity, self-esteem and the respect a person deserves. Truly we would miss the mark, by being like either of the brothers in the parable. No matter what we have believed so far in our life, chasing after false identity as true, this parable is giving an unconditional invitation to all who read this writing.

Book Reference:

William T. Kirwan. Biblical Concepts for Christian Counseling. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House:1984.

For further reading:

1. Millard J. Erickson. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House: 1983-85. 

2. R.T. Kendall. Understanding Theology, Developing a Healthy Church in the 21^st Century. 1996.

3. Jay E. Adams. A Theology of Christian Counseling, More than Redemption. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979.

4. Louis Berkhof. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.

5.  Robert P Lightner. Handbook of Evangelical Theology, Historical, Biblical, and Contemporary Survey and Review. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1986.

6. Charles Ryrie. Basic Theology. Chicago: Moody Press, 1986, 1999.

7.  A. H. Strong. Systematic Theology. New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co, 1907.

8.  Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology, An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.

9. Steven W. Waterhouse. Not By Bread Alone, An Outlined Guide To Bible Doctrine. Amarillo: Westcliffe Press, 2007. 

10. John Theodore Muller, Th.D. Christian Dogmatics, A handbook of Doctrinal Theology for Pastors, Teachers, and Laymen.  St. Louis, Mo: Concordia Publishing House, 1934.  

11. Prayers To Move Your Mountains. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000.

12. John White. Parables, the Greatest Stories ever Told. Illinois: Inter varsity Press, 1988, 1999.

13. ESV Study Bible. English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, Wheaton, Illinois: Publishing ministry of Good News publishers, 2008.

14. The Matthew Henry Study Bible. King James Version. Iowa falls: World Bible Publishers, Inc. 1990.

 

Taming the untamed dangerous emotions.....

My book on Biblical approach to non-organic illnesses, deals with emotions like fear, anxiety, bitterness, anger, guilt and depression at an early stage which do not have an organic base. The call here is to deal with these emotions at an early stage Biblically, so one can enjoy life in fullness. In this blog I am dealing with few dangerous emotions, and giving few guidelines and steps to tame them.  

Anger and its cousins.
How to deal with anger and its cousins?
The human emotion of anger is man's number one enemy. Anger's first cousin is jealousy or envy followed by bitterness, harsh language, wrath, and ultimately the will to murder. Tolerance for anger is a self- destroying sin. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, for anger resteth in the bosom of fools; Ecc 7: 9.
What more shall we say about anger? We know that we have passed from death to life

(Spiritual life) because we love our brethren. He that loveth not his brother abide to in death (spiritually dead); 1 John 3: 14. Please refer to my blog on depression and try to deal with anger and its cousins the following way.
1. Distrust your selfish nature; in other words one has to die to self!
2. God is at work once we commit ourselves to Him; Get out of God's way and make a list of sin- laden emotions.
3. Learn to worship God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. This journey is a process and learn to work with God’s Spirit because fallen man cannot do it on our own. In your heart learn to dwell on His Word when confronted by offensive situations. Memorize Phil 4: 6-8 and try to practice.
4. Without prescribing what, how, when and how, place your total trust in the Sovereignty, power and will of God for all decisions making in your life.

The above steps are helpful in our journey and walk with the Lord in our day today life.

Judgementalism and its cousins
In general angry people have the most trouble in forgiving. Those who are honest about their own short comings forgive readily. Those who ask forgiveness of others for misdeeds do not make the mistake of blaming others for their own mistakes.
¹⁵ By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone. Prov: 25: 15.
²⁴ Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: ²⁵ Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.  Prov: 22: 24-25

Fear:
It is important that Christians learn to confront fear and evaluate and manage the emotion of fear. There is a difference in fear for all situations and the reverential fear of God. Reverential fear of God is good, and the Bible tells us that fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, Psalm 111: 10.
The fear of The Lord is clean, enduring for ever, the judgements of The Lord are true and righteous altogether, Psalm 19:9. The world pattern is completely different when one deals with fear and there is no God in their equation. Godless humanist concepts for counteracting fear may seem to work for a period of time. In this area I would like to mention people who go and get involved in occult and mediums to know their future because they have fear of the unknown. This may seem to work and bring them to a height of ecstasy and confidence for a short period, but eventually their hope and confidence collapses. To add to this the Bible says when the wicked falls the frightful hammer of truth falls upon him and his doom is for sure and the Lord will not rescue him on his day of calamity.

The fear of failure will be vastly reduced when a man becomes a true leader at home, not with hypocrisy but a God honouring leader. It is important to remember that home is a place and a laboratory to work and develop true empathy, power, love, and understanding that is needed to succeed, 1 Timothy 3:12. Much of God's Word encourages any one concerning keeping one's life pure. In my practice I have seen that people become decision impaired when living in sin or having a double life. People having secret sins, generally are people who live in fear, of being found out and they will go in a down ward spiral of emotions and when they are decision impaired.

Satan, the territorial war and deception
The battle ground for control between God and Satan is the soul (mind, will and emotion) of man. Satan desires to have our mind as his territory (property). People who insist upon self- supremacy are giving precious grounds for Satan.  ³For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself; Gal: 6:3.
Satan proceeds like a parasite and enters the thought life of people who would voluntarily or involuntarily hosts his ideas and manipulate and exploit them for his selfish benefit. Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them; 2 Cori: 4:4; 4.

Satan's tactic is deception.
Imagine what he did to the mind of Charles Darwin! He inflicted his smart mind and was the most effective fraud ever concerning life's origin, meaning and purpose. Satan exploits the masses of people of the world with varied ideas of the world for life practice that cause the people's own ruin. (These practices include godless humanism, the practice of deviant sex, abortion, occult and so on). He was in the thought life of the beautiful and impressive being whom we know now as the serpent who deceived Eve. Satan uses the same tactic as he used then. He plants doubts about the importance of God's Word and then tempts people by making evil look good, pleasant and desirable. Smart minds if not guarded by Divine grace it is like sugar care to the enemy of our souls. ¹⁴And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. ¹⁵Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works; 2 Cori: 11: 14-15.
But, we have hope in the impossible because of what God did through Jesus Christ on the cross. Remember Satan's power is limited! God giveth more grace; God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. We have to submit to God and resist the Devil and Satan will flee away.  ⁶But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble;” James 4: 6.

What is true liberty and where do we get it?
Real liberty is freedom from the deceptive control of our old nature, and that is Satan and the world. The context of liberty is a life enhancing environment. The Bible is the source for life enhancing principles and emotions for wise decisions. ¹⁵ Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world; 1 John 2: 15-16. ¹⁶ This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh; Galatians 5: 16.

Heart questions when we deal with these dangerous emotions.
Where is self-esteem and self-image for a believer?
Am I genuinely at peace within myself?

Where is our first love?

For further reading:

1. Millard J. Erickson. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House: 1983-85. 

2. R.T. Kendall. Understanding Theology, Developing a Healthy Church in the 21^st Century. 1996.

3. Jay E. Adams. A Theology of Christian Counseling, More than Redemption. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979.

4. Louis Berkhof. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.

5.  Robert P Lightner. Handbook of Evangelical Theology, Historical, Biblical, and Contemporary Survey and Review. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1986.

6. Charles Ryrie. Basic Theology. Chicago: Moody Press, 1986, 1999.

7.  A. H. Strong. Systematic Theology. New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co, 1907.

8.  Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology, An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.

9. Steven W. Waterhouse. Not By Bread Alone, An Outlined Guide To Bible Doctrine. Amarillo: Westcliffe Press, 2007. 

10. John Theodore Muller, Th.D. Christian Dogmatics, A handbook of Doctrinal Theology for Pastors, Teachers, and Laymen.  St. Louis, Mo: Concordia Publishing House, 1934.  

11. Prayers To Move Your Mountains. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000.

12. John White. Parables, the Greatest Stories ever Told. Illinois: Inter varsity Press, 1988, 1999.

13. ESV Study Bible. English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, Wheaton, Illinois: Publishing ministry of Good News publishers, 2008.

14. The Matthew Henry Study Bible. King James Version. Iowa falls: World Bible Publishers, Inc. 1990.