‘Don’t Grieve the Holy Spirit’

 Toni M. Babcock

There’s a lot of grievance in the world ‘of the bitter kind’, but not much grief in the world over sin. 

This is one reason the Apostle Paul reminded the church at Ephesus not to give the devil an advantage (Ephesians 4:27 CSB), knowing he loves to turn our bitter experiences into grievance. 

Paul exhorted “No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear. 

And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. 

You were sealed by him for the day of redemption. 

Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. 

And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.” (Ephesians 4:29-32 CSB). 

In other words, he told them, “Be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.” (Ephesians 5:1 CSB)

Oswald J. Smith (1889-1986) once wrote ‘The heart of the human problem, is the problem of the human heart.’ 

In today’s ‘smelly’ and divisive climate, where it’s easy to become a critic instead of offering peaceful solutions to the problems we face, let’s ‘smell like Jesus’— bringing the fragrance of kindness, grace, and the good news of the gospel. 

Heaven knows we need it.

 
Toni is author of Reflections from the Heart in Light of the Gospel of Jesus, and The Stone Writer, Christian Fiction for Young Readers and Teens. Contact