Day 5: Which train are you on?
Proverbs 29:11,
“A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.”
My wife and I were discussing Pastor Paul’s sermon “The One Thing That Every Believer Needs.” To illustrate his point on mind and emotions, he used the example of a train. He explained that on a train the emotions would be the caboose. As we talked, I pictured two trains.
Train one was crossing an open plain in the old west. Smoke billowed gently from the stack; the conductor sat confidently with an arm hanging out the window looking like he was thoroughly enjoying the ride. The passengers in the passenger cars sat orderly, reading books, looking out the window or playing board games. As I watched the caboose come along, the second conductor was sitting in a chair with his feet on the rail taking a quick nap. Everything about train one was peaceful and orderly. Then I pictured train two.
Train two was coming down a hill. The first thing I noticed was the amount of people on the train. People were on the top, the sides, the front and back. Some of the people had begun to jump off as they barreled towards a bridge that had been washed out by a storm. That’s when I noticed the caboose was leading the train. The cars were filled with people and various farm animals that all seemed panicked from the bells, whistles and alarms. As the engine came roaring by, I could see the main conductor furiously trying to stop the train. However, the second conductor—the one from the caboose—was fighting him at every turn to keep the train going off the rail. Everything about train two was utter chaos.
We are warned against allowing our emotions to control us. Our emotions want to do the works of the flesh. Emotions, when controlled, are a good thing. However, when emotions are allowed to roam free, you may find yourself in a fist fight because you didn’t wear a mask.
Proverbs 16:32
“Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”
Action: Do something kind for a “crazy” person you know.