When I was growing up my grandma would say, ”Randy, be careful, don’t grieve The Holy Spirit.” We don’t hear that preached much anymore.
One of the places in Scripture where we read about grieving the Holy Spirit is in Ephesians 4:29–32. The apostle Paul writes:
“Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not grieve God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live…Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”
To grieve means to make sad or sorrowful. It means to cause sorrow, pain, or distress.
But what makes the Holy Spirit sad or sorrowful?
1. Foul and abusive language makes the Holy Spirit sad.
Verse 29 says, “Don’t use foul or abusive language.” The word used here speaks of something that has gone “rotten.” This includes obscene language, profanity, dirty stories, vulgarity, double entendres, etc.
At what point did it become “cool” for preachers to speak this way from a pulpit? Some people would say this is being “real” or “authentic.” Guess what? You are not to speak this way—privately or publicly. How about being authentically godly instead?
Rev Ran 🙂