bitterness

Hebrews 12:14-15 says: “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 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.” Bitterness. It’s poisonous. I know people who have allowed their bitterness to consume them. And the result? It damages every relationship in their lives. Erwin McManus says that you can’t be bitter toward one person. It’s impossible to compartmentalize a corrosive emotion like bitterness. It corrupts all of our relationships to one degree or another, including our relationship with God. Bitterness is anger turned inward, and it hardens our hearts. It ends up limiting our capacity to genuinely love even those who have never wronged us. When we embrace bitterness, we reject grace. Our judgment is impaired. Our perspective is skewed. Or memories are distorted…God save us from bitterness!