我们昨天讲到选择性的表达是一项十分重要的行动，所以我们要多花一天的时间来进一步思考这个问题。我们先来聆听阐释版圣经怎样翻译诗篇七十三篇15节：「如果我说出来了，表达了我的感受，我就会变得不真诚，背叛属于你孩子的一代」。要留意虽然诗人那么强烈的经历了那种缺乏把握的感受，但他没有把这些情感表现出来，因为他知道这样做会给他的弟兄姊妹带来负面的影响。他承认自己的感受但拒绝表明出来，因为他知道这样会伤害和妨碍神的家庭。

表达我们的情绪而完全不理会别人的感受，这等于是罪、自私的放纵。我们应当容许自己感受情绪的全面，然后以蒙神允许的方式表现出来，换句话说，只有当神让我们与别人分享那些感受的时候，我们才这么做。因此使徒可以严厉的批评哥林多的教会，因为他所说的话配合了神的心意。

有一点我们必须注意，因为每当我们感到愤怒，并将怒气发泄在别人身上的时候，就会很容易的去把自己的愤怒合理化，说：「神要使用我来教训你。」但如果我们安静检视自己的心，往往就会发觉我们的行为并不是神的旨意，而是自己要发泄恼怒的渴望。选择性地表达感受是一种成熟和属灵的回应，但是不加选择的表现却是既不成熟更不属灵。

So important is the point we raised yesterday the need for selective expression that we will spend another day considering it. Listen to how the Amplified Bible translates Psalm 73:15: "Had I spoken thus and given expression to my feelings, I would have been untrue and have dealt treacherously against the generation of your children" (emphasis mine). Notice that although the psalmist experienced strong feelings of uncertainty. he refrained from expressing these emotions because they would have had a negative effect upon his brothers and sisters. He acknowledged his emotions, but he refused to express them because he knew they would hurt and hinder the family of God.

Expression of our feelings with no thought of another's welfare amounts to sinful, selfish indulgence. We must allow ourselves to feel the full weight of our emotions but then subordinate their expression to the purposes of God. Only if it is God's will for us to share those feelings with others must we do so. Thus the apostle could write stinging words of rebuke to the Corinthian church because his words were in harmony with God's purposes.

We have to be on our guard here, because whenever we feel angry, and vent our anger on someone, it is so easy to justify our angry feelings by saying, "God wanted to use me to teach you a lesson." But more often than not, if we examine our hearts we will find that our goal was not the will of God but the desire to get those angry feelings out from inside us. Selective expression of feelings is a mature and spiritual response; indiscrimate expression is immature and unspiritual.