Feeling Mature

I am becoming more and more protective of my feelings.  I don't mean in a controlling way where I don't let people get to me.  I mean in a way where I won't let anyone tell me how to feel. This may sound immature, but if I don't base what I do on how I feel it is actually a pretty mature way to deal.  Accept how you feel, but do right no matter what.  God didn't say don't get angry.  He said be angry and sin not.  This is maturity.  It is taking some work for me to digest this idea, but it doesn't make it any less true. It is the exact opposite way of thinking then many people in the world have been taught.  They say "Do what feels right," but the results of this can be drug and alcohol additions, fatherless children, criminal acts, and laziness.  To put it plainly when you do what feels right to you then you will SIN unless you first train yourself to be aware of what is right, and then it is still sometimes a struggle.  It takes constant acts of training ourselves to do what is right before we can instinctively do things based on how we feel.  We must wrap up our hearts, minds, and bodies in the will of God for us.  Then what feels right will become what is right.  This leads us to feel our feelings freely and still do what is right.  I refuse to lie or pretend to feel something that isn't there, and I will not allow anyone to take away my right to feel however I feel.  I do recognize that my way of thinking is in need of renewal daily to keep me from acting incorrectly and by that renewing of my mind my feelings may also change a bit in intensity and/or triggers. No one has the right to tell me that I can't be mad, sad, frustrated, or any other feeling that might crop up.  If someone challenges my thinking with biblical backing it can be a show of caring and even encouragement, but attacking anyone's feelings is lacking in compassion and respect for that person.  If how someone feels makes you uncomfortable then go away.  People may hurt my feelings, but no one is allowed to annihilate them.  They are a part of who we all are and they are feelings that God has too.  God feels too.  Our feelings are a part of our reflection of God on the earth.  We are made in his likeness.  It is healthy for all of us to deal with our feelings and to deal with them we need the freedom to accept them. We are a complex design of the all mighty and we need to explore and embrace who he has made us to be. Feelings are not something that we should throw away like a tooth or loose hair in a brush. We need to feel them, recognize them, analyze whether or not we can fix them, if yes then fix them, then find a way to act that is in honor of the God we serve. This to me is a way to feel my feelings while not enslaving myself to them. I own the rights to my feeling, but I am also at liberty from my feelings. 

 I was created for God's purposes, so why should I repress, depress, or compress how I feel for anyone else? Why should you?  The only reason any of us should tone down how we feel is if we are enticing someone else to sin.  This is the biblical reason.  If how you are reacting  is causing someone else to want to sin or feel sinful then find a better way to deal with your feelings or go away.  We should not be a stumbling block for anyone else.  We need to deal with our feelings, but others shouldn't have to unless there is something that we need to address concerning them.  While we should be free to feel our feelings we shouldn't be putting them on other people.It can be difficult to embrace how we feel while being considerate of others around us, but this is a part of learning to feel maturely.