There’s an unspoken belief that the state of being human is itself intrinsically sinful. Of course, no one says so in so many words, but the idea pops up when people feel guilty for having certain emotions. It’s assumed the emotion itself is sinful.
This assumption needs to be clearly addressed because overwhelming guilt produces shame, and shame is one of the most effective ways Satan uses to drive souls away from Yahuwah.
Anger isn’t a pleasant emotion. In fact, along with sadness and depression, it’s considered a “negative” emotion. However, it’s not a sin to feel anger. In fact, anger can be the still, small voice letting you know that something is wrong. Anger can be a very righteous reaction in injustice.
Scripture gives multiple examples of Yahuwah being angry. For example: “In Horeb you provoked Yahuwah to wrath, so that Yahuwah was angry enough with you to have destroyed you.” (Deuteronomy 9:8) That’s just one instance. There are many others.
"Anger is just anger. It isn't good. It isn't bad. It just is. What you do with it is what matters. It's like anything else. You can use it to build or to destroy. You just have to make the choice." Jim Butcher |
Some believers dismiss those passages. They claim that Yahuwah’s anger is acceptable because He is holy and cannot sin. But humans, they reason, aren’t holy so our anger is sinful. Paul, however, disagrees with such claims. “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” (Ephesians 4:26-27) In other words, it is possible to be angry and not commit sin.
The difference between anger that is a sin and anger that isn’t depends on what you do with it. Do you feel the emotion and surrender it to Yahuwah? Or do you use it as an excuse to cause harm to someone else? The Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, wisely observed, “How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.”
Sadness is another “negative” emotion that is not a sin. Yahushua himself, knowing full well that he would be resurrecting Lazarus in just a few minutes, still wept at his tomb. In Gethsemane, Yahushua was in such mental anguish that he experienced a very rare but real physical phenomenon called hematidrosis where, in response to intense mental and emotion distress, a body will actually sweat blood.
“And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. Then his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44) And yet, throughout all of this, Yahushua did not sin. It’s not a sin for you to feel sorrow, either.
There are many reasons why people feel sorrow. Sometimes at funerals, ministers will attempt to comfort the bereaved by telling them they shouldn’t be sad because their loved one is “in a better place.” Not only is the assumption that good people go to heaven at death incorrect, but such a statement is not comforting at all! It simply adds a burden of guilt to their burden of sorrow. Sadness, like anger, is a very human emotion and one that is not a sin.
In fact, Scripture contains special promises for those who sorrow. In speaking of the earth made new, John said, “And [Yahuwah] will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4) For Yahuwah to wipe away the tears of the redeemed means that there will be tears to wipe away! And it’s not counted as sin.
Over time, sadness can deepen into depression. Depression is another very human emotion for which Satan shames people. And yet, like sadness and anger, it’s not a sin! David was often depressed and that is reflected in the psalms. “I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow.” (Psalm 6:6-7) In fact, when Yahushua on the cross cried out, “My El! My El! Why have You forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34), he was actually quoting from Psalm 22!
There are many reasons why some people struggle with depression. Unresolved trauma and PTSD are leading causes of depression. Hormonal imbalances can cause depression. Chemical imbalances in the brain can also cause depression. It has been over 6,000 years since the human race had access to the tree of life. We can see the deterioration in our bodies, our intellect, and our lifespan. Why would our brains be any different? Yahuwah understands and does not account such things as sin.
It’s not a sin to have emotions, even “negative” emotions. Being human, feeling human emotions, is not a sin. Remember that Yahuwah created us to be human.
Then Elohim said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So Elohim created mankind in His own image, in the image of Elohim He created them; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)
The word translated “mankind” comes from the Hebrew word adam and means “A human being (an individual or the species) … Adam means ‘man; mankind; people.” Humans were the crowning act of Creation. We were created to have emotions. If Yahuwah had wanted automatons, He would have created mankind that way. But He didn’t. He created mankind to experience the full range of emotions and then He pronounced them “very good.”
Many sincere believers feel that, due to the inarguably infinite blessings Yahuwah pours out every day, it is a sin to be anything but happy all the time. Yahushua’s own experience reveals that this is but one more way Satan seeks to impose shame.
It’s not a sin to be human and it’s not a sin to feel the full range of human emotions. Yahuwah loves you and accepts you just as you are: a human being created in His image with all the emotions that go along with that.
