Ephesians 4:30-32

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [but seek to please Him], by whom you were sealed and marked [branded as God’s own] for the day of redemption [the final deliverance from the consequences of sin]. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence]. Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you.”

This passage of scripture is pretty straight forward. I almost feel like I don’t even need to expound upon it, but here we go.

Many of us have children. Those children sometimes bicker, fight, and are mean to each other. They say mean things, do mean things and then complain about each other. I get sick of hearing about it. It makes me sad that they can’t just get along sometimes. If they could only appreciate one another in all their differences and strengths and support one another in their weaknesses. I love when we have the moments of laughter, everyone working together and cheering each other on. That’s how a family SHOULD be. But when there is discord in the family, my heart is grieved. Grieved because I love these human beings that I made in my body with my entire being. Grieved because I think each of them is so special and amazing. Grieved because I know them so well and can clearly see what gifts God has given them and this behavior is not becoming of their calling. There is no comparison between them in my eyes. They are unique, equipped and anointed for their own God-given purposes. One kid should not be jealous of what another kid has achieved or what they’ve been given, materially or spiritually. Could you imagine what kind of mother I would be if I got some kind of sick satisfaction from pitting my children against one another through comparison? Sadly, I know that this does happen in some families. That’s dysfunctional, friends. A house divided will not stand!

Dysfunction, jealousy, comparison, insecurity, gossip, unforgiveness and more is running rampant in the Body of Christ, the family of God. Paul is writing this letter to the Ephesian CHURCH, people who were believers! When we act in all these horrible ways towards each other, IT GRIEVES THE HOLY SPIRIT. We are being used by the enemy when we behave this way. Please, ask God to search your heart if you find yourself experiencing strife, hurt, jealousy, etc in the church body. Sometimes we need deliverance from the oppression of the enemy. He is the root cause of all dysfunction in the Body of Christ. He wants to disable us by getting us to fight among ourselves. Please, stop! Get healed of your soul wounds! The Bible says unbelievers will know us by our love one for another!

The Father’s heart is grieved by His Bride’s behavior. Let’s get on our faces and repent. Repent to our Father and to one another. Let’s cheer one another on and work in the fields together! The harvest is about ready to be gathered. Let’s be ready in every way to be about our Father’s business.