During the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I came to a startling revelation that changed everything.

Allowing my emotions to control me is a sin.

What?

Wait.

Why?

I’ve always liked that I’m a sensitive, sentimental person. It gives me compassion and perspective.

I don’t always like that I cry over commercials, cheesy endings that you see a mile away, and book endings.

But, hey, that’s the way God made me.

Or so I thought.

To be clear, it is true that He made me sensitive and with a childlike heart. These are good things.

But He also put His Spirit in me, a Spirit that should have dominance over my emotions, not the other way around.

Emotions are a work of the flesh and in the flesh is no good thing. (Romans 7:18) By allowing my emotions to control me, I’ve reacted negatively to situations; I’ve grossly overreacted at times; and I’ve robbed myself of peace and joy by allowing these emotions  to take up valuable headspace.

Want proof that the devil is involved? Picture a brand new car as a relationship with someone you love. Shiny and new, you are excited to take it for a spin. Then an ill-timed comment, a misinterpreted text comes along and puts a little ding in your new car. It’s okay, it’s still nice and new and the dent is barely noticeable. But then your feelings get hurt over a slight, real or perceived, doesn’t matter, so you say what’s on your mind. A bigger dent. The longer you go, the more dings you get. The more you overreact, the bigger the dent. In fact, because you’ve let your emotions control you, your car ends up looking like Herbie after Tripp sold him to the demolition derby.

And the devil wins.

I’ve been the absolute worst at letting my flesh control me this year. Only I didn’t realize until now that by making everything about me, nothing was about Him.

And I’m truly sorry to those who were hurt in the process.