Bitterness Is Like Cancer
Bitterness Is Like Cancer October 22, 2021
“See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;” (Hebrews 12:15)
Bitterness is the result of hanging on to stuff about other people that irritates you and allowing that stuff to get under your skin and make you miserable. It is not about forgetting and forgiving; it is the very opposite of that. Bitterness deforms a person’s personality and makes them into an individual that most people don’t want to associate with.
I wonder if some feel that if they’re not bitter about someone all the time then they have forgiven them. Have you ever heard someone say about another who has harmed them in some way that they’ll never forgive them? In so doing they have chosen the path of bitterness.
It is like a cancerous growth. It begins small and, without proper treatment, will grow and attack the body. As the scripture above states, “It springs up and causes trouble.” The best way to deal with cancer is to have it removed and then begin radiation and or chemotherapy treatments to keep it from coming back. Prayer really helps here as well.
We need to respond to bitterness in the same way as we do cancer. Make a decision to remove it from our heart and take whatever treatments necessary to make sure it doesn’t come back. Treatments could be talking with a friend and getting some advice; reading how Jesus disallowed bitterness to live in His heart when it would have in our heart; praying about it and gathering enough courage to spend some time with the person who sparked the bitter feeling in the first place. In other words, replace the bitter feeling you have with that person with some better feelings.
It’s not an easy thing to do but as the scripture above states: By allowing bitterness to spring up, many become defiled by it. There is absolutely no good whatsoever in harboring bitterness in one’s heart, only misery. However, a heart that pushes aside bitter feelings is a heart that experiences joy in their relationships with others.
Brian Thompson