Although not nearly enough, we often talk about the harmful affects of sin. However, not much is said about the saddest part– how sin affects God. We seem to forget that the thing that makes sin so awful is that it offends God who is holy. The word “grieve” means “sorrowful” or “sadness”. Our sin saddens the heart of God and, considering that He is so good, that is awful indeed! Rather than please Him we inflict pain, which is a terrible indictment against our character. It shows how vile and corrupt we really are. He who would strike his neighbor is bad, but he who strikes his own father is worse. To grieve God is horrible!
And if you think God is overly sensitive and should cut us some slack, think again. God’s sorrow is not due to an enlarged ego on His part. Our offense against God does not affect His holy nature–He never changes. God’s grief is caused by His concern for us. As Spurgeon said, “He is grieved with us mainly for our own sakes, for He knows what misery sin will cost us; He reads our sorrows in our sins…He grieves over us because He sees how much chastisement we incur, and how much communion we lose”. What a great God, that He would care so much for those who care so little and deserve nothing.
