Grievant
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by
whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”—Ephesians 4:30 NASB
At some point we have all struggled
with areas of our lives that either grieve the Holy Spirit, or certainly tiptoe
the line. I know that I have tiptoed the line and grieved the Holy Spirit with
some of my choices and decisions. While I am not where I was 12 years ago, and
I am certainly a long way from where I was just last year, back in February of
2018, I still have moments of frustration and anger that I have to turn over to
God before I allow myself to sin. After all, the Word says be angry but do not
sin! Wasn’t that just a few verses before this one?
However, I know that getting
angry and saying something harsh grieves the Holy Spirit, just as drinking to
drunkenness, smoking marijuana (as it is illegal and we are commanded to obey
the authority of the land), looking at porn (the statistic is 92 million viewers a day, most seeing nothing wrong with it—although consider that sex trafficking
is one of the leading contributors to the billion dollar industry and the
people on the screen may be doing what they are by force), having affairs, as
well as having abortions, lying on or about others (slander), dishonoring
parents and setting people up so that they may stumble and sin—definitely all
of these are pretty clear examples of grieving the Holy Spirit.
Yet, we may not understand how
we are grieving the Holy Spirit or what it means to grieve the Holy
Spirit in other situations of our lives. We may be inclined to say we are
living right and aren’t grieving the Holy Spirit. But, if we examine our lives,
I am sure we will see where we might be if our hearts are not hardened stones.
So, what does it even mean?
According to Lexham’s Theological Wordbook, grieve means to distress, to have
hurt feelings, to make one feel sorry, and feeling deep sorrow. Now, to make
one feel sorry is not someone needing to feel apologetic. It is
actually more along the lines of the guilt-trip side of things. It is weird to
think about guilt-tripping God, but when we hurt others by guilt-tripping them,
I think of what Jesus said regarding what we have done for the least of these,
we have likewise done for Him, too. If the good we do to and for others applies
to Christ, logically, the bad we do to or for others can also be looked at as
being done to Christ Himself, as well. Their hurt, His hurt, their pain, His
pain. Gives us pause doesn’t it?
God commands us here through Paul to
not grieve the Holy Spirit. Essentially, he is saying, don’t make the Holy
Spirit feel deep sorrow for your choices, decisions and behavior. Basically, he
is asking us not to break God’s heart by choosing selfishness and the sinful
side of things. Ergo, if it hurts someone else, because it is done out of
spite, selfishness, pride, ego, arrogance, control, or vengeance, then it is
safe to say it has grieved the Holy Spirit.
Now, to avoid grieving the Holy
Spirit, there are a few things that you can do. The first is to spend time in
the Bible so that you know what a true relationship with Christ is, because He
is not vague on what to do and not do. In fact, I would recommend reading the
New Testament, particularly the Gospel of John and Romans. Further, to avoid
grieving the Holy Spirit, the Golden Rule is a great instruction as you read,
seek God in prayer and grow deeper in your understanding of the Lord.
As believers who have been sealed
for the day of redemption, there are a few things that we can also do to help
each other not grieve the Holy Spirit. We can choose forgiveness, humility and
kindness; we can show love, mercy and extend grace. We can refrain from
inciting others or stirring the pot. We can choose to encourage, be supportive
and understand we are all human. We all make mistakes and we all have caused
hurts for others. Some much greater than others. However, choosing to repent,
ask God for forgiveness and doing what He requires is a step in the right
direction. Especially when you pause to ask yourself: “Would this grieve the
Holy Spirit?”
Until Next Time
God Bless
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