Afflicting God

Isaiah 63:9
(9) In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

The note in my ESV Study Bible got me thinking about this. The affliction of God's people afflicted Him. This is true despite the fact that their sin led to their affliction. Plus, God brought their discipline upon them. Yet in their affliction He was afflicted.

There's an old control tactic with kids in church to say, "that makes Jesus sad" to get them to stop doing something. While there is truth to that and it's actually a good reason not to do something, it also sounds a bit trite. Yet I think that is what this verse tells us. Our sin afflicts Him. It certainly afflicted Him at the cross.

Does that ever factor into your decisions? I know that there are times when I sin and the thoughts of how it affects God are furthest from my mind. Frankly, I think they have to be. If I really let the weight of this sink in I'm pretty sure I would sin a lot less. I would certainly commit much fewer of the "little" sins that don't seem to have much effect on anything that I can easily see.

It's a dangerous prayer to ask God for more perspective on how my sin affects Him. However, as I type this I think that is what I want.