Do Not Grieve The Holy Spirit

March 25

"He who is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor,
but a man of understanding holds his peace."
Proverbs 11:12

A man of understanding...

We all have people we don't like, but what we do with that shows who and what we are. How we behave toward those we don't like says a lot about our character.

The human thing to do is to criticize them and express our disdain for them. We fancy that we are better than them and perhaps we are, that's not the point. The point is that as believers we represent Christ before the world, and we need to keep that in mind ESPECIALLY when we are around those we do not like. Kindness speaks more about us than all the preaching in the world.

vs 13:
"A talebearer reveals secrets,
but he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter."

Well yes, we are faithful if we do not share a secret with others. But how much more is our faithfulness revealed when we keep in mind that it is to God that we are being faithful? If we want to follow Jesus Christ, everything we do must be done in the context of this question, "What would Jesus do?"

Many times what Jesus would do is "hold his peace."

What do I gain by speaking against the one I don't like? Nothing. Absolutely nothing is gained, except a black mark on my soul.

If we want to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ, we silence our tongue. We keep in mind that Jesus died even for this one whom we dislike. We choose not to grieve the Holy Spirit within us.

Let us always be aware whom we represent, that we might not sin against him and against our neighbor with hateful words or criticisms. Let us ever answer the temptation with "What would Jesus do?"