Is it okay to show my emotions? - Emotions - TouchPoints

John 2:13-17Jesus went to Jerusalem. In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He . . . turned over their tables. . . . He told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.”

Greed, injustice to the poor, and disrespect for God’s house roused Jesus’ anger. This world has evils that we, too, have good reason to be angry about. Anger can spur change and action. But unlike Jesus, our anger is often impure, and Satan may twist it for his own ends. Still, like Jesus, we should be passionate about what is right.

Mark 6:34Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

Luke 7:12-13A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion.

John 11:32-35When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. “Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept.

Jesus often showed his emotions. Letting others see our emotions shows how deeply we care.

Matthew 26:38He [Jesus] told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Jesus was honest with his disciples about his deep emotions. We also should feel free to be this open with trusted friends.

2 Samuel 18:33The king [David] was overcome with emotion. He went up to the room over the gateway and burst into tears. And as he went, he cried, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son.”

Displaying emotions is not a sign of weakness. It is, rather, a sign of our humanity and an important component of our emotional health.