We’ve been talking about emotional baggage
lately, and the toll that it takes on your overall health, as well as your
relationship with God. Today, we’re going to look at the toll that baggage
takes on your emotional health, as well as what true emotionally healthy living
looks like.

The truth is that God wants all of us to get
to a place where we’re emotionally healthy. You don’t reproduce what you say,
wish for, or hope to achieve; no, you reproduce who you are. And if you’re not
emotionally healthy, you’ll spread that toxicity, no matter what level, to
every person you encounter. Many of us have been confused and hurt because of
the result of someone else’s emotional baggage.

In other blogs, we’ve already discussed some
of the causes, symptoms, and solutions to emotional baggage. Now, I want to
look at the flip side: what does it look like to live an emotionally healthy
life?

Emotionally healthy people honestly and openly
communicate in a gracious manner. They receive complaints, correction, and
input in a gracious manner. How? Because they are secure in themselves; they’ve
dealt with any lingering bitterness, insecurity, and pain. Does that mean they’re
invincible? Of course not! But they’re courageous enough to address their
wounds and their anger and deal with it in a mature manner.

Emotionally healthy people take responsibility
for their own behavior. This is a huge point! I don’t want to hear about what
everybody else is doing. What are you
doing? So many adults can’t take responsibility for their part in
relationships, and it’s a huge sign of immaturity.

Lastly, emotionally healthy people live
vulnerably. Because they know how to deal with emotional baggage when it comes
up—and it does arise in all of our lives!—they’re not afraid to be hurt;
they’re not afraid to trust; they don’t live afraid. They live vulnerably.

James 5:16 says, “Therefore,
confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be
healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” How
can we live the kind of open, loving life that’s prescribed here for followers
of Christ? Simply put, by dealing with our emotional baggage courageously and
maturely. When we do that, we’ll invite other people to do the same; and our
relationships will be healthier and more life-giving than ever before.

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