Ephesians 5:30 How can someone grieve the Holy Spirit?The warning in this verse is directed at those who have believed, been baptized and received the Holy Spirit. God is aware of and watching the actions and thoughts of all humanity. However, at this stage in human history He has special care and concern for those He has called to receive His great gift of eternal life. So, this is a warning for disciples of Christ. To grieve means to cause sorrow, distress, emotional pain.The one causing the sorrow distress and emotional pain is you or me.The sorrow, distress, and emotional pain is felt by the Holy Spirit of God which is Christ living in you.The scriptures speak of the Holy Spirit as being grieved because the resurrected Jesus Christ is alive, active, and present within you through the power of the Spirit. We prefer to speak of Christ’s presence within us as our advocate and helper. However, His presence in us also makes him witness to everything we say and think… and so He is also our perfect, righteous judge.1 Corinthians 4:3-5 Jesus’ judgment will be a total 360 evaluation of your life. Note: this is the judgment that will establish the reward [praise] given to those who are marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit and are raised from the dead at His return [the day of redemption], see 1 Corinthians 3:12-16.2 Corinthians 5:9-10 we can live a life that is pleasing to Him… or we can live one that grieves Him.Does God Really Feel Grief?God is all powerful. From our human perspective we can assume that means nothing we humans do, say, or think will affect Him. But I propose that’s really just us projecting our own way of thinking on God, rather than accepting Him as He has chosen to present Himself to us. Let me explain:Fear, rejection, longing, sorrow... we don’t like these feelings. What causes them is usually something outside our control… very often caused by other people… and we don’t like that either.If I were all powerful I’d set things up so bad stuff could never affect me… I wouldn’t want any negative emotions. So, it only makes sense that an all powerful being would set things up so He/She/It could not be affected by anything. Either by:controlling all things [denying freedom of thought and action]shutting out emotions [goal of eastern religion and most human philosophy]- the idea of God as a Universal Intelligence or MindBoth of these are dead end solutions that leave humanity with a bleak vision of life and reality. Gladly God has a different way of seeing things.Isaiah 55:8-13Genesis 6:5-8 One of the many things Jesus did during His life in the flesh was to show us the Father. In other words to show us what God is like. Jesus showed emotions… indignation, wrath, sorrow.What Causes God Grief, Sorrow, and Emotional Pain?God saw the evil doings of the people on earth and He also saw or knew “that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts were only evil all the time”. God can be grieved by what we do and I believe especially what we think, or what is going on in our hearts. Lets go back to the immediate context of Ephesians 4:30 for insight on how someone might grieve the Holy Spirit.Ephesians 4:29 the words we speak. It is amazing to me how much emphasis God’s word, Jesus Christ, the Apostles, the Psalms, the Proverbs and the Prophets place on the words we speak. Perhaps because they provide the clearest window into our heart. Matthew 12:33-37 [Proverbs 4:23-24]We might say “she doesn’t really think that, she’s just venting… in her heart I know she feels differently’’, or,” he didn’t mean to say that… he was just joking around”. But for the person who hears them, and especially for the person who says them they may be an indication of what’s really going on in there. Ephesians 4:29 doesn’t really give us examples of corrupt communication or “rotten talk”. But we can figure it out by looking at the “not that, but this” formula. We are advised to stick to talk that builds up, helps, and benefits others. We can