“Bitterness” is an adjective and has the following definitions:
1. Strong and sharp in taste: having a sharp strong unpleasant taste, for example, like that of orange peel
2. Resentful: angry and resentful.
3. Difficult to accept: painful or very hard to accept.
4. Hostile: expressing intense hostility.
5. Very cold: penetratingly and unpleasantly cold.
I am interested in the second definition: Resentful, which reflects a brooding anger. This anger produces a bad spirit within a person, a spirit of hostility and coldness towards God or others.
Now the question is – Where does bitterness come from?
Bitterness is the result of what others do to us or say about us. Sometimes, bitterness can result from the events of life themselves, as we blame God or others for our troubles. It affects every relationship within our lives, but most importantly affects our relationship with the Lord.
The Bible talks about this “root of bitterness” in Heb 12:15 and Deut 29:18. It is called a root because it begins to grow hidden within the soil of our hearts. From there, its roots entwine themselves around our hearts and minds, until they choke the life out of us emotionally and spiritually. If allowed to grow unchecked, this “root of bitterness” will spring up into a plant that will cast a shadow over everything that we want to do, literally dominating our very existence.
We don’t need to be afflicted by this root of bitterness. If we honestly confess our hurts to the Lord, and seek to forgive the offending party, then God will give us the grace to heal us. We don’t need to let that root of bitterness live another minute! Only God can restore us through His healing.
But for some of us, we need go that extra mile and ask forgiveness from our offended Brother or Sister. Saying, “I’m sorry for what I said or what I did. Please forgive me!”, would be a blessing! Still for those of us, who are harboring a hurt and nursing a wounded spirit while the offending person doesn’t even know what they have done. The best thing we can do is to get it before the Lord and allow Him to deal with it. If we can’t get over, then the Bible tells us to go to that particular Brother or Sister and talk it over in a spirit of humility and love.
So friends, let’s be honest and start dealing with our roots of bitterness, it’s time to pluck the weeds out so that our life grow in the abundance of Christ.