Who is controlling our emotions?
We Christians anticipate the second coming of Jesus. What we don’t anticipate as much is the rise of the Antichrist. This individual will not only oppose all that is Christ, but will also pretend to be Jesus Christ. He will deliberately try to deceive the world to make us believe he is Jesus. If not for the Holy Spirit, even born-again Christians will be fooled. (Matt.24:24)
TRUTH IS TRUTH
The Anti-Christ will be subtle, deceptive. So, when I watch a powerfully convincing film, I must stop and think. Inside Out is one of the few I’ve viewed in recent years that I think was worth my time.
I used to watch movies for their entertainment value and never gave much thought to whether those values were consistent with Scripture. A movie was simply acceptable if it didn’t have explicitly ungodly scenes and language.
But not anymore. I’ve learned to discern wisely. Sometimes, the subtle messages trip us up —the ideas and suggestions are close to the truth, but not quite true.
As followers of Christ, we are called to view the world through Scripture and not view Scripture through the world.
My children were fascinated by the movie, and I suspect it helped them understand emotions. I like that, especially for boys, who are usually not known to be emotionally expressive. Truth is truth, and if the creators of the movie illustrated these hidden but critical emotions, then I am grateful.
But I can’t leave it there. The portrayal lacks a critical piece—the source of these emotions.
Let’s start with a quick overview of the movie, Inside Out 2.
This is an animated movie, with the main character, a young girl named Riley. Riley lives with her parents and goes through several life changes. We first met Riley in Inside Out 1 when she was 11; Inside Out 2 takes
us back to see her navigate additional challenges as a 13-year-old. Throughout, we see how emotions control her behavior. It also illustrates how these emotions interact with her belief systems and memories.
Much of the film centers on how Riley’s “emotions” interact and the shenanigans they go through to take care of her. They are personified, with names correlating to different emotions, making it easier to understand as we peek at how they affect the individual and others around them.
“The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life.” The center of her mind is portrayed as a console; depending on which emotion touches or controls the console, she feels that emotion. The emotions jockey for position with no central leader, though Joy appears to be the predominant but unelected one. It seems Riley does not control her emotions. The emotions control her, and she is unaware of this internal drama.
CAN’T SERVE TWO MASTERS
In the movie, the personified emotions controlling Riley are Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, Nostalgia, Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust, Sadness, and Boredom. Understandably, it would be difficult for the producers to present a more comprehensive array of emotions without losing the audience.
The emotions that control us are based on whom we obey. Each of us obeys either Christ, or our flesh and the devil, Matt. 6:24; we can’t serve both at the same time. With every decision, we choose a leader.
When we obey our flesh and the devil, the emotions controlling us are jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, orgies, and things like these. Eph. 5: 19-23
Demons and evil spirits are real; if we consistently see them manifesting, we should cast them out. Forgiveness, confession, and repentance are the brooms we should constantly use to clean out these ungodly emotions.
When we obey Christ, the emotions controlling us are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The Holy Spirit determines which emotion should surface, based on His leading. When we focus on Christ and His Way, Godly emotions dominate.
SLIPPERY SLOPE
Inside Out 2 is relatable and has enough depth to be engaging and surprising. The creators mirror what we intuitively believe. Across all age groups, we can relate to this human condition, where it seems our emotions dictate how we act and behave. But because the film resonates at a deep level and appeals to a broad audience, it has the potential to deceive.
This is the slippery slope. Nowadays, products like these are presented to us after psychologists and neuroscientists recommend them to convince us of their worldview.
Someone who doesn’t know God’s Way might leave believing they must constantly strive to control their emotions and draw on joy, anger, fear, and so on, as they see fit.
To embrace anxiety, for example, is not God’s Way. We are not to be anxious; if we do, this should be an alarm bell telling us to seek God’s face as we are out of alignment with His thoughts.
In Scripture, we know our emotions are not triggered by us controlling them, per se, but by who or what controls us. Have you ever been in a situation where you know, based on the facts, you should be worried and depressed but instead, you felt peaceful? You didn’t draw on peace—the presence of the Holy Spirit produced peace.
MIND WHO MINDS YOUR MIND
Each person elects who controls their “console.” For a Christ-follower, the Person controlling our console should be the Holy Spirit.
The movie is good, but doesn’t go far enough to show us the key forces controlling us. Be on the alert for information we receive from the culture—a culture that seeks to explain away Christ. If we don’t question what is controlling our emotions, we’ll assume there is no God. This is not new, as evolution continues to be the mainstream explanation of how the world was created—and not by God. Subtle and effective deception.
Emotions like anger, bitterness, and resentment are meant to destroy us. They are spirits we invite when we indulge in our flesh, or open areas in our lives for evil spirits to invade. Let’s not consider these emotions acceptable and shrug, “it’s just human nature.” Let us be steadfast in asking the Holy Spirit to help us eliminate them as we work out our salvation.
As Elijah spoke to the Israelites at Mount Carmel, we are called to decide who should control us.
“How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him.”
Baal in this context represents idols, anything we worship outside of God, may it be ourselves, other gods, or things. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
According to Rom. 8:5-6, those who follow the Spirit will reap life and peace— “…Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
Jennifer Layton Starns, a Jamaican, is a software consultants coach overseas and is author of the book, “The Two Kingdoms.”
