The Blight of You Know What

What this post will speak to has no doubt claimed more lives than alcohol, tobacco, cancer, heart disease, war and automobile accidents—all put together.

It is more dangerous than a raging river that is out of its banks, or a lightning bolt that is not grounded, or a hungry lion out of its cage.

It will, if not corrected, not only vex your soul but destroy your body.

I am talking about bitterness, and I believe unbelievers and believers alike are guilty of nursing this pet sin.

It not only works from within; it finally destroys that which is without. It starts in the heart and mind—then affects the eyes, the lips, the tongue, and the hands and feet. Its scars are sometimes visible, but as likely as not they are invisible.

Its side effects are anger, hatred, murder, separation, loneliness, and, not seldom, suicide.

Its symptoms are physical and mental; arthritis, pains of all sorts, heart disorders, nervousness, and many other maladies are common among its victims.

“Let all bitterness be put away,” Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, just before he warned them not to grieve the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 4:31) Bitterness in all of its guises:

• Because of bad business relationships;
• Because of unfulfilled expectations;
• Because of hurt over what someone said or did not say, did or did not do;
• Because of unkind or untrue words spoken about us, or about a loved one;
• Because of unpaid loans, or unrequited kindness.

1. The Companions of bitterness (Hebrews 12:14-17)

• Failing of the grace of God.
• Failing to go on to perfection and run with patience the race set before us.
• A soul troubled by grief, by sorrow, by broken relationships, and by a smitten conscience.
• A defiled mind, which is manifest in a loss of the ability to reason and discern.
• A degraded body, too often given in the last stages to fornication (such as Esau) because of harbored bitterness, which weakens one’s moral defenses and erases one’s rational decisiveness. There is a high cost to pay for “getting even,” and it is often the emaciated state of what was once a sound mind and body.

2. The Curse of bitterness

• A loss of reward. Esau sacrificed the permanent on the altar of the temporary. He forfeited spiritual blessings (birthright blessings) for that which was material.
• A loss of repentance: Esau “found no place of repentance.” (Hebs. 12:17)

3. The Correction of bitterness

• Follow after peace with all men (Hebs. 12:14)
• Do not let the sun go down upon your wrath (Eph. 4:26)
• Be kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another (Eph. 4:31)
• Honor all men. Love the brotherhood (I Pet.2:1)
• All of you be subject one to another (I Pet.5:5)

Dr. S.I. McMillan, in his book None of These Diseases, says “it might be written on many thousands of death certificates that the victim died of ‘grudgitis.’” He went on to say that “the moment I start hating a man, I become his slave. I cannot enjoy my work anymore because he even controls my thoughts. My resentments produce too many stress hormones in my body; I become fatigued after only a few hours of work.”

Some years ago “Reader’s Digest” published an account of a woman who had been bitten by a dog and was advised by her doctor to write out her last wishes, as she would likely die of hydrophobia. She spent a long time with the pencil and paper, and finally the doctor said something about the length of her will. “Will!” she exclaimed. “I’m writing out a list of the people I’m going to bite!”

Follow after holiness, without which no man will see God. (Hebs. 12:14) Pursue and perfect holiness. (II Cor. 7:1) Be done with self-pity; ingratitude; sarcasm; hoping retribution will fall upon someone; and extreme negativism against a person or organization. As the hymn exhorts us: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” (Helen Lemmel)

The antidote for all bitterness!

“But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.” (Luke 6:27,28)