Mastering Our Emotions: Biblical Principles for Emotional HealthNäide

The Purpose of Emotions: Disgust

But that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. (Acts 15:20)

Disgust is a natural emotional response to contamination. Contamination can include both physical (e.g., a stomach bug) and moral (e.g., things in the world that are morally repulsive) types. It is easy for us to understand the important response of vomiting when we have a stomach bug so that we can eliminate a foreign substance from our bodies. I see many clients who have what is known as emetophobia, or the fear of vomiting, and other clients who struggle with unrealistic fears of both moral and physical contamination, as in the case of OCD, which has an anxiety component.

We often fail to realize, however, that God designed us to experience disgust in response to moral contamination. For example, my wife has a strong physical reaction in response to TV ads that violate our moral beliefs. Ironically, like the other emotions we’ve discussed, God designed us to be aware of the spiritual danger of contamination just like he designed us to navigate physical contamination.

• Can you think of a time when disgust served you well?
• Consider a time when you experienced disgust in an unhelpful way and a time when you experienced disgust in a helpful way.
• As you reflect on this series of readings, what has stood out to you? Is there one emotion that you would like to prayerfully continue to reflect on?
• Has anything shifted in how you see your emotions and how God created you as emotional beings?

Adapted from Mastering Our Emotions: Biblical Principles for Emotional Health. Copyright © 2024 by Kevin Chapman. Used by permission. For more information, please visit https://www.ivpress.com/mastering-our-emotions