Bitterness at its Root

“I just can’t stand him/her!”

“He/she makes me so angry!”

“I wish I didn’t have to deal with him/her.”

Truth be told,  we’ve all felt like this at one time or another. Sometimes a person can make us so angry, so irritated that we say/do things that we later regret.  Bitterness tends to accompany anger/hatred.

The trouble is…this bitterness, this annoyance can and will mess a person up if they allow it.

Hebrews 12:15 tells us “Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.

Cling to what is good. (Romans 12:9b)  Bitterness is NOT good. Bitterness eats away at our hearts and causes so much unnecessary pain and anguish. And the ironic part? The person we are bitter towards most likely has no clue. They are going about their lives completely unaware that we are harboring all these feelings of resentment.

So, is the bitterness worth it? Absolutely not. It serves no purpose whatsoever. All bitterness does is cause a person to become miserable.

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” (Hebrews 12:14-15)

Bitterness, at first, is not something that can be seen. It can, however, be felt, little by little if we let it grow. We must learn to rip out the bitterness by the root. It does no good to just chop it down. No, it must be grabbed by the root and tossed. If we let it continue to grow in our hearts, it suddenly will sprout and out flows anger, slander, and heartache. Bitterness will turn to anger. Anger will produce sin if we’re not careful. When we seek revenge, when we act on our anger, we are in danger of sinning.

Check out my post on anger: Be Angry and Sin Not

Ephesians 4:31 says ” Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. (ESV)

Bitterness doesn’t have to take root. I know, you’re probably thinking, “Well, Leigh, you have no idea what’s happened to me. I have a right to be bitter.”

Let God take control. Give Him your bitterness before it takes root.