Developing Emotionally Mature Leaders By Aubrey MalphursSample

Day Two

An Emotional God

Scripture: Genesis 1:26-27

God is an emotional God. It is part of his identity. What I mean by that is He is a God who experiences emotions such as love, anger, joy, and hope. And he created us in his image. That means we too are emotional beings — that is a part of our identity.

That’s why to be spiritually mature is to be emotionally mature. And to be emotionally mature is to be spiritually mature. While not the same, like twins they are inseparable. You don’t have one without the other. So those Christians who believe they are spiritually mature persons, but who evidence little emotional maturity, are mistaken.

Scripture under girds the importance of emotional maturity. Through the Scriptures, God has revealed himself to humankind. Paul says that the Bible is profitable for reproof, correction, and for instruction in godly living (2 Timothy 3:16-17). At a time when many people believe that truth is relative, the Bible provides us with absolute truth that addresses who we are and what we do. We need to look to Scripture constantly for the truths that reveal the importance of emotional maturity.

We can then take the fruits of emotional maturity to the church. Every church exists to bring Christ’s message to a lost and dying world. Churches are vehicles of grace, and that message is their mission. When functioning as Christ designed it, the local church can be a wonderful, God-honoring entity that reaches lost, unchurched people while edifying those who have embraced the Savior. This is an emotionally mature church and what Christ intended. But a church can’t function well — it can’t accomplish its mission — without godly, emotionally mature leadership.

Some Christians believe that emotions are not to be trusted or a sign of weakness. Actually, emotions are central to what it means to be human. We talk about our emotions every day. We ask or are asked, “How are you?” We tell someone about what has upset us or has made us happy. Everything we do seems to involve our emotions to some degree. This is because we are made in the image of a God who expresses emotion. Shouldn’t our leadership reflect that truth?

Have you ever thought of God as an emotional God? Do you believe he is? Why or why not?