Thriving in Kindness

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  - Ephesians 4:30-32 

Holy God, we ask for your guiding spirit to be in and move through us. Allow us to see the ways we hurt those around us. Help us to grow up in Unity through our actions. Help my eyes to see and my ears to hear your gentle voice who corrects in kindness.  

Hello Ladies, 

We are wrapping up what was an abundant series on Ephesians 4. We hope and pray that you have been moved and grown in your faith as we went through this diverse and rich text.  

As I look back, we covered a LOT about faith (one of the major reasons we chose this passage as our key verses for our ministry). This rich text taught us not just how we should live in Christ, but also how we should not. From being humble, gentle, and loving to being united together in Christ- I hope you thrive in the foundations laid these past weeks. As we dive into our last passage, I pray it all comes to a conclusion that brings about full clarity and renewed purpose for our daily lives. 

First- let's talk about greiving the Holy Spirit. Context is very important here. If you have ever learned a new language- whether that’s a new English word or a new language all together, we are taught that if you don’t know what something means, look for clues around that word or phrase to help you make an educated guess about what that word might mean.  

I have heard MANY many versions of interpretations about this passage. I won’t go into those, but rather point out the things I see in the verses before and after this statement which hopefully provide clarity for us.  

In light of all we learned in the verses Marcie taught on the last few weeks, we know Paul is highlighting the wrong things we can do as humans which are against God (falsehood, anger, greed and impurity). 

When we think about grieving something, we are feeling sorrow for something bad that has happened- from death of a loved one, to the loss of job- grief is always based on bad things. Knowing how God speaks about the evils deeds we can do, and that the Spirit is God, we can trust that our spirits grieve when we do bad things. I love how the NLT translation states it: 

“And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.” (Ephesians 4:30a). 

In the way we live, we must be kind to the spirit living in us. When we take part in the evils of this world, we are harming our spirits internally. The next part continues with how to avoid bringing sorrow to our spirits: 

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” 

These are all reactions. Bad reactions. Our whole day is full of reactions. And the way we react can make or break how the rest of the day goes. 

Is anyone else out there naturally inclined to anger?!? This is one area I constantly struggle with. If any part of my life is off- I truly become a grouchy grumpy mama. I need the right amount of sleep, water, good weather, and no stress to not fall into this temptation.  

Sticking to the first three (bitterness, rage, and anger) I can tell you that when I give into these three feelings, I am left with a guilty mind and hurt heart. Luckily, Paul gives us the remedy: 

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” 

Bitterness needs forgiveness. Rage and anger need Compassion. This can absolutely change your day.  

I had a chance to act this out this week. I had a text come in from my new landlord stating our water had to be temporarily turned off. She didn’t tell us why and didn’t know for how long- and I had a choice. I could sit in anger and bitterness against not having running water while I work and all the problems that come with that, or I could choose to react in love and let it go.

I am grateful I acted in kindness! Not only was I able to respond to my landlord with kindness, but I took the chance to visit a friend at the local coffee shop to work there instead. I had a BLAST.  

The other part Paul says to avoid is brawling, slander, and forms of malice. Could you imagine a society that stopped fighting and speaking lies about each other but lived in kindness? It sounds almost too good to be true!  

I have been on the receiving end of some slander recently. It hurt more than I could describe. The hard part about these sin-filled reactions is they don’t end up just affecting the person acting in bitterness or spreading slander, but also the one receiving it as well. We start to bring other people into our sin and cause ripple effects of hurt when we are not cautious with our reactions.  

Ladies- I hope this week we can react in kindness. We can be compassionate and we can forgive others. It will set you free! 

In love, 

Nicole Cifuentes  

P.S. from Marcie D. The next series will be an Advent series which Nicole has felt led by the Spirit to bring to us. I can’t wait to read it along with you as we see what’s in store for us this Advent season!  

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

• WGIF