WHY IS THERE SO MUCH BITTERNESS?

Bitter food is one thing; but a bitter spirit that eats at the soul and spews forth cutting, hateful words is another matter entirely.

When you think about something tasting bitter, what comes to mind? An unpleasant taste? No doubt. A cutting feeling on the tongue? Most likely. A bitter-tasting object can cause a person’s tongue, mouth, face, and even entire body to twist, shake, and recoil in response to it. It is sometimes comical to watch such a reaction when unsuspecting souls bite into a food item from which they did not anticipate a bitter taste. Small children can be a riot to watch do so. 

There is nothing comical, however, about a scene in which children of God demonstrate a bitter spirit towards God or their fellow man. Bitter food is one thing; but a bitter spirit that eats at the soul and spews forth cutting, hateful words is another matter entirely. 

Since Jesus said, “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16), we would do well to consider some of the consequences or fallouts that come about due to bitterness. They are not pretty. Hopefully, the ugliness of them will catch our attention and cause us to be determined to work diligently to keep bitterness from taking root in our hearts. 

WHAT DOES BITTERNESS DO?

Bitterness troubles. That is what Hebrews 12:14 teaches. “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.” Bitterness stirs up trouble. If Satan cannot get us to fall for false teaching or give in to the pull of immoral conduct, he will take a crack at bringing us down with a bitter spirit. Marriages, friendships and elderships have crashed due to bitterness robbing people of their joy, rational thinking, and peaceful demeanor. Let’s face it: some people have “bitter breath.” I do not mean they have a foul odor, but rather the words that spring forth from their mouth are full of bitterness. James asked, “Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter” (James 3:11)? The answer is obvious. Just before that, James had made these two declarations:“Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be” (James 3:10). 

The point? Christians need to remove bitter speech from their vocabulary. That means, of course, that we must first remove any bitter spirit from our hearts. Make no mistake about it: a heart filled with bitterness causes big trouble, some of which is undoable. 

Bitterness defiles. We see this truth in the latter part of Hebrews 12:15: “...lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.” Many would be quick to point out how horrific murder, adultery, and idolatry are. Yet, a bitter disposition is sometimes passed off as, “That’s just the way he/she is.” If “the way he/she is” means that he/she is a bitter grump, then he/she needs to have a serious change of heart and repent! The same Lord that tells us to avoid murder, adultery and idolatry also charges us, “Let all bitterness...be put away from you...” (Ephesians 4:32). God knows what you and I need to understand and admit: bitterness defiles the soul. 

Bitterness divides. A bitter spirit gets in the way of obeying the Lord’s instruction to “follow peace with all men” (Hebrews 12:14). There surely was a good reason for God saying, “Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them” (Colossians 3:19), don’t you think? Bitterness can turn the best of friends into permanent enemies, drive happily-married couples to divorce court, and spark a civil war within what was once a stable, solid, and contented congregation. Satan must watch with glee as bitterness leads to turmoil within families and God’s church. 

Bitterness damns. Quite simply, if God tells me to put away bitterness, and yet I do not do it (Ephesians 4:32), then my sin of bitterness will keep me separated from Him and thereby keep me in a lost state. Back again to Hebrews 12:15, we see that the bitterness which troubles and defiles a person causes him/her to fail or fall short of the grace of God. No wonder the Holy Spirit exhorts Christians to look diligently lest bitterness spring up in our hearts (Hebrews 12:15)! 

A bitter disposition and bitter tongue do not jive with being a child of the living God. As we have seen, bitterness troubles, defiles, divides, and damns. Those truths get my attention. Do they get yours? Because “the heart knoweth his own bitterness” (Proverbs 14:10), let each one of us look into his/her own heart, do some self-analyzing, and if bitterness be found, get rid of it. 

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