Hurting God
I saw a church sign though well intended was not worded correctly: “We love Hurting People.”
BE - Don’t Grieve!
the Holy Spirit is grieved or pained by sin, especially the sins of the tongue (vv. 29, 31).
The time of sealing coincides with the time of believing. sealed … with the Holy Spirit. A seal indicates possession and security. The presence of the Holy Spirit, the seal, is the believer’s guarantee of the security of his salvation.
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God (4:30). The Holy Spirit does not leave a believer, but the Spirit may be grieved by sinful behavior and what influence the Spirit had is quenched (cf. 1 Thess. 5:19).
The instructions about anger were followed by the warning against giving place to the devil (v. 26). These instructions now about the Christian’s conversation are followed by the warning do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. All sin—the reminder is necessary—and not least that of the tongue, is a cause of personal sorrow to God, for we are called to fellowship with him.
Not to limit speech to wholesome, helpful words makes the Holy Spirit feel grief because of our behavior. We are not saying that you can never say anything negative. Sometimes we are forced to talk about unpleasant things, particularly in solving problems in which people are involved. Teachers, ministers, employers, coaches, lawyers, police, and so on, all find it necessary to tell the truth about someone even if it is unpleasant. Whether you are solving a problem or not, you avoid speaking unwholesome words. Your intent is to build up, not tear down, to unify, not divide.
MAIN IDEA REVIEW: You should live like the one you have become. Live in unity and mutual ministry with others and in holiness before God.
“Bitterness” is an irritable state of mind which produces harsh and hard opinions of others. Someone once came up to me and told me what he thought of another Christian. A third Christian who was present later said, “Don’t put too much stress on what he said, Dr. McGee, because he is bitter.” A great many people are speaking out of bitterness, and when they do, it hurts. This grieves the Holy Spirit.
BE - Don’t Grieve!
Be Kind. 32
I had just finished seating guests at my sister-in-law’s wedding when my wife, Suzanne, told me the bride desperately needed some cough drops. I had five minutes before the processional started.
Although there were several inches of snow on the ground and the temperature was below zero, I ran out the church door without a coat. I quickly jogged around the area. Two blocks away, I spotted a convenience store.
I skittered along as fast as I could on the unshoveled sidewalks, careful of my tuxedo. Bursting through the door of the store, I met a grinning cashier.
“Fella, I’ve been watching you all the way down the street. Are you running to your wedding or from it?”
Then he offered, “Any guy in this much trouble needs help. Whatever you need, it’s on the house.”
I breathlessly nodded a thank you, grabbed a bag of cough drops, and returned to the church, just in time.
Speak kindly in the morning; it lightens the cares of the day, and makes the household and all other affairs move along more smoothly. Speak kindly at night, for it may be that before the dawn some loved one may finish his or her space of life, and it will be too late to ask forgiveness.
Speak kindly at all times; it encourages the downcast, cheers the sorrowing, and very likely awakens the erring to earnest resolve to do better, with strength to keep them. Kind words are balm to the soul. They oil the entire machinery of life, and keep it in good running order
BE KIND - Don’t Grieve God!
Be Tenderhearted. 32
Tenderhearted ⇔ good bowels adj. — being compassionate or tenderhearted; conceived of as one’s compassionate, internal feature known as the bowels being good.
Be Forgiving. 32
Two Monks
One day, two monks were walking through the countryside. They were on their way to another village to help bring in the crops. As they walked, they spied an old woman sitting at the edge of a river. She was upset because there was no bridge, and she could not get across on her own.
The first monk kindly offered, “We will carry you across if you would like.”
“Thank you,” she said gratefully, accepting their help.
So the two men joined hands, lifted her between them and carried her across the river. When they got to the other side, they set her down, and she went on her way.
After they had walked another mile or so, the second monk began to complain. “Look at my clothes,” he said. “They are filthy from carrying that woman across the river. And my back still hurts from lifting her. I can feel it getting stiff.” The first monk just smiled and nodded his head.
A few more miles up the road, the second monk griped again, “My back is hurting me so badly, and it is all because we had to carry that silly woman across the river! I cannot go any farther because of the pain.”
The first monk looked down at his partner, now lying on the ground, moaning.
“Have you wondered why I am not complaining?” he asked.
“Your back hurts because you are still carrying the woman. But I set her down five miles ago.”
That is what many of us are like in dealing with our families. We are that second monk who cannot let go. We hold the pain of the past over our loved ones’ heads like a club, or we remind them every once in a while, when we want to get the upper hand, of the burden we still carry because of something they did years ago.
There is one eternal principle which will be valid as long as the world lasts. The principle is—Forgiveness is a costly thing. Human forgiveness is costly. A son or a daughter may go wrong; a father or a mother may forgive; but forgiveness has brought tears … There was the price of a broken heart to pay.
Divine forgiveness is costly. God is love, but God is holiness. God, least of all, can break the great moral laws on which the universe is built. Sin must have its punishment or the very structure of life disintegrates. And God alone can pay the terrible price that is necessary before men can be forgiven. Forgiveness is never a case of saying: “It’s all right; it doesn’t matter.” Forgiveness is the most costly thing in the world.
