428 The Spiritual Man
stronger in them until they are completely carried away. They do
what they should not; and after having done it they repent for having
so done. Second, even those who have experienced the dividing of
spirit and soul and who recognize the stirrings of emotion as being
soulish and instantly resist can nonetheless walk after emotion. This
is due to the success of “spiritual” counterfeit. Before anyone
becomes spiritual he is overwhelmed by his powerful emotional
feelings; but after he becomes spiritual his emotion often pretends to
be his spiritual sense. Outwardly these two are difficult to
differentiate, because they appear to be nearly identical. For lack of
knowledge, the saints can be deceived. And as a consequence they
exhibit many carnal actions.
We should remember that in walking after the spirit all our actions
must be governed by principles, since the spirit has its own laws and
principles. To walk by the spirit is to walk according to its laws.
With spiritual principles everything becomes sharply defined. There
is a precise standard of right and wrong. If it is “yes” it is “yes”
whether the day is clear or cloudy; if it is “no” then it is “no” whether
exciting or depressive. The Christian’s walk should follow a distinct
standard. But if his emotion is not handed over to death, he cannot
abide a permanent standard. He will live by the whim of his
vacillating feelings and not according to a definite principle. A
principled life differs enormously from an emotional life. Anyone
who acts from emotion cares neither for principle nor for reason but
only for his feeling. Should he be happy or thrilled he may be
tempted to undertake what he ordinarily knows is unreasonable. But
when he feels cold, melancholy or despondent he will not so much as
fulfill his duty, for his feeling fails to go along. If God’s children
would pay a little attention to their emotion, they would note how
changeable it actually can be and how dangerous it therefore is to
walk by it. So often their attitude is: if the Word of God (spiritual
principle) agrees with their feeling, they observe it; if the Word does
not, they simply reject it. What an enemy emotion can be to spiritual