Fruit Has a Root – Part Two
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:30-32
There is an ageless couplet that summarily defines what bitterness does to a bitter person: “Bitterness does more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to the one on which it is poured.” Bitterness is self-punishment.
Hebrews 12:15 gives a proper warning: “Watch out that no bitterness take root among you, for as it springs up it causes deep trouble, hurting many in their spiritual lives.” Much of this “deep trouble” is within us.
The person with whom you are bitter may be a world away or even dead, but in one sense is always with you. The object of your bitterness is always with you, lording over you as a taskmaster would a slave. He whips your thoughts into such an agitated state that your best mattress becomes a torture rack. Daily the object of your bitterness is a distractor, causing you to function at less than your best. You are often driven to unsocial and non-Biblical reactions to persons who have no idea what is driving you.
Modern science has opened our understanding regarding the ability of the mind, known as the “psyche” to produce various reactions in the body, known as the “soma” (body). By combining the word for mind and the one for body, we get our term psychosomatic. It speaks of the influence of the mind over the body. Invisible emotions such as bitterness can produce significant and serious changes in the body. Dr. William Sadler, a physician remarked, “The sincere acceptance of the principles and teachings of Christ with respect to the life of mental peace and joy… would at once wipe out more than half the difficulties, diseases, and sorrows of the human race… it would pay any man or woman to live the Christ-life just for the mental and moral rewards it affords here in this present world.”
Don’t try to even the score. Remember, God said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay….”
Forgive, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God….” Then it is noted, “bitterness” as grieving the Holy Spirit. We grieve the Spirit when He is guiding us not to do something and we do it. Thus, the Holy Spirit is depicted as appealing with us not to be bitter. The word “grieve” means to weep. Your bitterness makes God cry.
Bitterness, which is long-standing resentment, a refusal to be reconciled, causes God sadness. That alone should break our hearts and bring us to repentance. If you have any bitterness, pause now and do business with God.