Emotional Millisecond

I decided to embark into the chaotic world of retail on the day after Christmas.  Now, if you know anything about shopping, you know that the day after Christmas is only the second busiest day of the year.  I do pride myself on not going out on Black Friday and being apart of the jungles of mall traffic.  Regardless, the day after Christmas still holds quite a bit of the chaos, just to a smaller degree.  I was talking to Marcus on the phone and pushing a cart back to it's spot when I realized I had just returned the only available cart.  I relayed this to Marcus, and upon hearing it, a complete stranger sprinted to retrieve the lone cart.  This may seem like a natural response to any shopping veteran, but to me it seems ridiculous.  Is it really that important to have a cart (and ensuring that no one else gets it), that you have to sprint across the store to get it?  Ok, so who am I to judge the structure of importance in her life.  It did stir in me an interesting realization, however.

Humans, as a whole, are constantly operating in a state of flux.  It is as if we were not made to have any sort of peace; that one side of ourselves is constantly fighting the other for dominance.  And these two sides?  You guessed them: logical and emotional.  One only has to stand back for two minutes and observe the human behavior in chaos to identify it.  It is our natural inclination to embrace our "lower nature," i.e. our unfulfilled desires and selfishness.  We operate at a sane level until emotions become the dominant voice controlling us.  

This thought brings to mind the devil and angel that sit on your shoulder from t.v. sitcoms years ago.  The devil holds zeal, our true inclination.  The angel, however, well, the angel holds our goodness and sanity.  

Time and time again we have watched a hugely successful person throw aside their values in a moment of fleeting emotion.  This moment costs them their dignity and often, their career.  

We have come to a place in society where our logical brain is in control until in the heat of a moment.  It is then that the emotions, and honest desires, come to light.  It is then that the most painful memories show up from our past, our unforgiveness surfaces, and the beauty of others is estranged.  In reality, it is unrealistic to expect perfection in the area of emotional control.  We are human and as humans, it is impossible to just forget a painful memory, because we will it to leave.  But it is our responsibility to come to terms with the things that are harming us in our present so they don't harm our future.  I was talking to a pastor years ago that said, "There is a time of decision to either be selfish and pained or strong and controlled.  It is very brief and occurs directly before any blow out.  If you aren't looking for it, you will miss it.  It is in this millisecond of a moment that you need to pray."  Next time you are about to have a confrontation and say something you regret, look for it: that millisecond.  That control that will save you the loss of trust, sanity, or dignity.  Focus on the better, rather than the now.  Focus on the future you.

-"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins." -2 Peter 1:5-11