Grieving the Holy Spirit

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
~Ephesians 4:29-32

We read this at church last week and one person mentioned how the command to not grieve the Holy Spirit is smack dab in the middle of these verses which deal with how we speak and what we harbor in our hearts toward others. Therefore, when we allow unwholesome talk to proceed from our mouths or let bitterness, rage, anger and so forth, fester in our hearts, we are not only hurting those we are directing these things at, we are grieving the Holy Spirit. We are causing our Lord to grieve.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to be the cause of grief for my Lord. I know in reality I already am - every time I sin I grieve Him (which is why I'm so grateful for His mercy and grace). But for scripture to point this out so clearly in these verses makes me think that these are things I should pay careful attention to in my life.

God specifically pointed out these things to me the other night (read Hatred and Bitterness) in regards to two people in particular (at work). This is something that with His Strength I need to address. However, I also need to remember to apply this to those I profess to love the most. Sometimes we treat those we love the most, the worst - we so easily take them for granted.

That is one of my main purposes for this blog, to nuture a thankful heart towards my dear husband, no matter what is going on in our lives. When I let the things in the verses above rule my life and my relationship with my husband it has some very serious consequences which in the past I never dwelt on. Hateful words spoken in anger or frustration (whether "deserved" or not) grieve my husband which in turn harms my marriage. They also grieve my Lord which in turn harms my relationship with Him as well.

In order to ensure I remember this during those times when I find my natural inclination is to lose my patience and lash out at others, I'm going to write these verses down on a few index cards and post them where I will be able to be continually reminded about them (work, bathroom mirror, in my car). We are told to hide God's Words in our heart, I think these words are a good start.