They are ruled by their emotions, the days circumstances are their masters, and they obey each day.
There is little logic based, deductive reasoning skills to their daily lives, they can function within the world, as long as the world remains the same, as long as it is normalized, but once the terms are modified, they lose their place. The lost that are here are called the brute beast, (2 Peter 2:12) they are the herd, or at least part of it, and they are easily swayed.
It is difficult to say if any of these we speak of are saved, for the Scriptures are clear, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Matt. 6:34) And these are clearly quite fearful of a future, even the coming day tomorrow, that they cannot see. And that fear is not supposed to be there, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18)
Unforeseen circumstances are the bane of these individuals, for what they cannot control, or exert what they have imagined is some semblance of control over their lives, and so their emotions are adversely affected.
Elijah is a good example of one of the opposites of these individuals we speak of, and perhaps an answer, in part to the question that is posed in this poorly written letter. 450 Prophets of Baal were killed by the edge of the sword, fire from heaven at his command, (1 Kings 18:38) he runs faster than a horse and chariot, and then runs away from one old woman. Emotions, when not kept in check, become our master, and far too many who claim Christ as Lord of their lives fear the loss of that life, whether it be in the day-to-day routine that they expect to occur, or in the loss of it through death, fear is the ruler of all emotions. Love is the trump card, so to speak though, love can conquer fear, but few understand this truth.
Elijah just had 450 people killed, with a sword, and then within the hour feared for his own life, in fact, he went for two days because of that fear. Not one of us would have done any differently, but that was an extraordinary event, I speak here today of the ordinary. Those who fulfill the daily task in a repetitive manner, week after week, year after year, the employment field, the Sunday morning gathering spot, call it church if it makes you feel better, ad Infinium. As long as that routine is maintained, as long as no real adverse effects enter into the sphere of their lives, they will actually need to search for something to complain about, and the longer that routine is unaffected, the easier the search becomes.
Hence those negative emotions that they do all that they can to avoid, they actually begin to search for, for emotions, whether they are positive or negative, are akin to a junkie looking for his next fix. Uplifting ones are best, of course, but the negative ones will look just as well when emotions run a person’s life.
We are not ever going to rid ourselves of them, nor should we desire to, but they must be kept under control. “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” (1 Cor. 9:27) A prime example that they are inherent? “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) “Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.” (Psalm 95:11) “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
Pride, envy, lust, these also are emotions, the list is long and extensive, and when they arrive, no matter the type, they must be faced head on, they must be noticed and dealt with, they must be recognized, or they will control us. This started, so to speak, on day one my friends, the moment that Lucifer said, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” (Isaiah 14:14) Let’s try to do a little better job at controlling them than he did, shall we?
