Daily Prayer 12/17/07-Tinkering with Emotions

This week my interests (my tinkering) lies in the observance of human emotions. I often know the right thing to do, but do not do it when my emotions win out over what is logical and what I know to be right. The Greek philosophers called this stoicism. Their efforts were to minimize emotions and live by logic. Here's an excerpt from wikipedia:

Stoicism teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions; the philosophy holds that becoming a clear and unbiased thinker allows one to understand the universal reason (logos) . A primary aspect of Stoicism involves improving the individual’s spiritual well-being: "Virtue consists in a will which is in agreement with Nature."^[2] This principle also applies to the realm of interpersonal relationships; "to be free from anger, envy, and jealousy",^[3] and to accept even slaves as "equals of other men, because all alike are sons of God."^[4]

Stoicism's prime directives are virtue, reason, and natural law. Stoics believe that, by mastering passions and emotions, it is possible to find equilibrium in oneself and in the world.


-----Well---- If I could control my emotions, life sure would be a lot easier! Our emotions are the root of our sins and our problems in our life. All sin is self-serving and our emotions are the root of our sins. Oh if only we could control our emotions! So this week I thought I would just examine my emotions and how much trouble they cause and also try to control my emotions better. Ha! I gave up before the end of the day Sunday.

James writes of the problem well in James chapter 3 and 4...

James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, the {very} world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of {our} life, and is set on fire by hell.
James 3:7 For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.
James 3:8 But no one can tame the tongue; {it is} a restless evil {and} full of deadly poison.
James 3:9 With it we bless {our} Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;
James 3:10 from the same mouth come {both} blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.
James 3:11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening {both} fresh and bitter {water?}
James 3:12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor {can} salt water produce fresh.
James 3:13 ¶ Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
James 3:14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and {so} lie against the truth.
James 3:15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.
James 3:16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
James 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
James 3:18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
James 4:1 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?
James 4:2 You lust and do not have; {so} you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; {so} you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.
James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend {it} on your pleasures.


So I know this is a long prelude to the prayer, but I see a problem with my prayer life. Because I am ruled by my emotions, I am selfish and I ask for things selfishly. We MUST seek God. We MUST seek His will. He must increase in our lives and we must decrease.

Father-

We spend so much time asking You for things that I wonder if we are even in tune with the things we should be praying for? So tonight my prayer is simple. I ask that we would know You and draw closer to You. How can we know Your will? We MUST spend more time with our Bibles open and seeking Your will for our lives. So I just carefully pray that You are glorified as You do Your work all around us each day. I know You have glorified Yourself and You will continue to glorify Yourself. I know that the purpose and end of life is not US but YOU. That means we need You to help us kill our desires for self protection, self promotion, self pleasing....I just pray that we would learn to be lowly servants. Help us to remember the Christian paradox. The way up is down. To go up in the next life we must first go down and be lowly in this life. To win is to lose. To win the reward of eternal life by faith in Christ is to lose in this life, counting it all loss. We have no personal ambition but to submit to You and live for You. Wherever You take us from there we leave to You.

Lord the stoics could not tame the emotions....it often lead them to self destruction and taking their own lives. They were ruined. I can not tame my emotions either. But You Holy Spirit change the heart and can remove my love for self and replace it with a love for others.

Right now I have a chance to be least and so now I close quickly so I can serve another. Help us Lord to be humble.....Amen.