Bitter. The feeling that means “hateful, hostile, or resentful.” Have you ever experienced this type of feeling in yourself? If someone is filled with bitterness towards another, they are holding a grudge against them for something that the other person has done. They are filled with a great disliking towards them, for whatever the reason.
Maybe you know someone like this? How many of you know someone who has a hard time letting go of grudges, and constantly brings them back up time and time again, well after the offense had been committed?
Ephesians 4:31 “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:”
Someone who is bitter isn’t filled with the quality of forgiveness. They aren’t filled with love, mercy, or grace, but they are filled with a persistent feeling of anger. That is why we need to put it away from our lives, because it is a quality that does not come from the Lord.
Luke 6:36 “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.”
No one of us is perfect, and this is especially important to remember when a man and woman marry, as each of them needs to go into that marriage already willing to forgive the other for any sin or misdeed that the other might commit in the future, however painful they might be. Because that is LOVE. That is forgiveness and mercy.
Colossians 3:19 “Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.”
Hate, anger, bitterness… these feelings are a leading cause of divorce today. It is the inability and unwillingness to be forgiving. It is the unwillingness to overlook others faults and weaknesses. Because of this it has become too common of a practice for marriages today to end in separation, all because of someone’s bitter heart. Many so-called Christians today seem to forget that Jesus gave a simple command, to love.
Jesus won’t leave us because we are sinners, and neither should those in a marriage. Jesus doesn’t remain bitter towards this earth full of sinners, day after day after they have repented. What does the Lord say?
Hebrews 8:12 “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”
Are we not Christians? Aren’t we supposed to follow the teachings of Christ? Then why would someone choose bitterness over forgiveness? Why would they choose hate over love?
As Jesus was crucified on the cross, what did He say? “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Does that sound like someone whose heart was filled with bitterness? No it does not.
The story of Joseph is one that we use a lot on this website because it is a perfect example of showing forgiveness. After years of suffering wrongfully at the hands of his brothers, the situation came to where Joseph was in the place of power over them. He had the opportunity to punish them for their sins against him, but instead of using that power, he forgave. He let go of any bitterness and anger towards them, and forgave them. The sin of bitterness can lead to many other problems in the future, and this is why we need to rid ourselves of this disease. Don’t let it spread and continue on.
Forgive, forget, and move forward.
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 