The Emotion Snowball

• How do you act when you are angry?

• Share a time when you got angry with a sibling or a friend.

In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
Genesis 4:3-5

You may know the story of the brothers, Cain and Abel. Shortly after this Genesis scene, Cain says to his brother, “Let’s go out to the field.” When they get there, Cain attacks and kills Abel. When God asks Cain where Abel is, Abel lies and says he does not know (see Genesis 4:8-9).

Sin can have a snowball effect if we let it. And Cain’s devastating snowball began with emotions — anger and jealousy. On their own, anger and jealousy are only emotions, but emotions can lead us to sinful actions if we let them. And then sin can lead to more sin, which leads to more anger and hurt.

We need to recognize emotions for what they are: emotions, and only emotions. We do not have to act on them. If our emotions make us want to sin, we need to resist this temptation and bring our emotions to God. We need to pray about whatever we are feeling.

PRAYER
Dear God, please help us to recognize and respect our emotions. Help us to learn to deal with the emotions that we experience by praying about them, talking about them and expressing them in appropriate ways. Amen.