SAYING NO TO A KNEE-JERK REACTION
With all that is going on in the world, I sometimes get
distracted and let my emotions take the lead in my reactions to what I hear and
see. I know I’m not the only one who does that! But Romans 12:2 tells us: “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Yes, God does express emotions.
He gets angry; He laughs; He has joy; He has all the emotions we have, but we
need to read the Word of God and get to know Him to see where these emotions
are appropriate and where they’re not. We must always bring our thinking back
to what God says, not just go with a knee-jerk reaction.
I read an article about some Russian scientists who are
studying DNA. They found that in the 90% of DNA that is not producing proteins,
there is a set-up that responds to frequencies and language. The scientists
proved that our very DNA responds to words and frequencies and that those same
elements can alter our DNA.
I believe that when a person gets born again of God’s
spirit, the spiritual gift we receive gives us the ability to change our DNA to
accept and believe what God says and do things His way. But as the Bible tells
us, we must continue feeding our DNA the right frequencies and the true words
of God so that we don’t go back into the more childish emotional responses we
might have had in our past.
Years ago, a funny incident happened to me that
illustrates this principle: God has given us the ability to be the person He
called us to be. We have an old self and a new self, and the new self in Christ
is much better for you and everyone around you!
Here’s what happened: I got in the car and started backing
out. The passenger-side mirror got caught on the side of the garage door, so I
moved up a little and tried again. And it got caught again. Then I pulled up a
little and went to the left as far as I could without hitting a stack of boxes.
I tried backing out again, to no avail. Then I got angry, jerked the steering
wheel to the left, and hit the stack of boxes.
Eventually, I did manage to get the car backed out, but I
was mad: “Who moved the boxes so close, and who the heck parked this car
anyway?!”
I got about two blocks away, and I was still all fired up,
angry as heck. Then I caught myself: “Wait a minute; that’s not me!” I listened
to a preacher talk about those times when he did or said something that was
totally of the flesh and not the spirit. He called these outbursts “fits of
carnality.”
My angry response to the boxes wasn’t from the Christ in
me. Luke 17:6 came to mind: “Say unto this sycamine tree, ‘Be thou plucked up
by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.’” I said
out loud: “Anger, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus Christ. Get out. I’m not
having you.”
The record of Jesus talking to the unfruitful fig tree also
came quickly to mind: “And seeing a fig tree afar
off having leaves, he [Jesus] came, if haply he might find anything thereon:
and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was
not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, ‘No man eat fruit of thee
hereafter forever.’ And his disciples heard it. In the morning, as they
passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots” (Mark 11:13,14 and
21).
So, I spoke to my anger in the same way: “I call you
plucked up by the roots. And anger, you don’t have any good fruit,
so I call you dried up from the roots.”
The insane anger I had over the silly garage incident left immediately,
and I had a great day.
Thank God for His mercy and that He never leaves us but
is always willing to help us when we need Him so desperately. Even though I
falter at times, I know for sure that in the depths of my heart, I will always
be clinging tightly to this great truth from Philippians 1:6: “Being confident
of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until
the day of Jesus Christ.”
What we hear and what we say can even change our DNA!
God’s given us the ability to better ourselves. And to those of you younger
people who will be having children, you will be passing on your DNA. Give them
your best!
Here are some questions that can help make this Preach
Letter more personal for you:
1. Have you ever caught yourself being mean, angry, or
laughing in a weird, uncontrollable way, and wondered, “Where did that come
from? That’s not me!” Describe the incident.
2. In a situation where you had a “fit of carnality,” were
you able to arrest it? How?
3. What verses or self-talk could you or do you already use
to back off a “fit of carnality” incident?
4. Recently, what things have you done or said that are
like the fig tree with no good fruit? What are you doing about it?
Love, Carolyn
