“I hate humanity. I am allergic to it. I see no one. I don’t go out. I am disgusted with everything. Men are beasts, and even beasts don’t behave like them.” Those are the words of actress Brigitte Bardot, sex symbol of the 1950’s and 1960’s. In those years she made the headlines with her three marriages, a series of lovers, and “a sun-kissed life on the French Riviera.” She plans to quit the movie world and retire to a farm. ¹ In a similar, fashion some have walked away from Jesus. They are disgusted and embittered souls. No one can afford the root of bitterness in their life. It is a lethal root which must be pulled up and out of a believer’s life.

Beware the Root of Bitterness

Hebrews 12:15 (KJV)
15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

• The writer of Hebrews warns us about being offended.
• In his words, we are to look diligently lest any fail of the grace of God.
• Failing the grace of God is yielding to offense.
• It’s falling away from grace.
• Roots of bitterness is what causes it.

Definition: ‘looking diligently’ – the phrase is one word in the Greek language. It is the word episkopeo which means to give attention to, to look at, to oversee, to guard against, or to look upon.

• The Word is saying pay attention to the root of bitterness. Guard against it.

Definition: bitterness – state of being bitter to the taste, bitterness. ²

• Bitter roots bring forth bitter fruit.
• The Lord warned Israel about this very thing, falling away because of bitterness.

Deuteronomy 29:18 (KJV)
18 Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart tur.neth away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;

• The ESV has it as ‘Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit,…’
• How many have walked away from the things of God because they have become embittered?
• How many have left the church and are no longer fellowshipping with other believers for this very reason?
• Bitterness will cause you to fail. It can cause you to fall away.
• Deal with this root.

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The Company Bitterness Keeps

• Adjectives for bitterness may help us here.
• Look at the company bitterness keeps.
• Bitterness is…
  • Resentment
  • Holding a grudge.
  • Indignation or anger.
  • Sourness
  • Cynicism
  • Hostility
  • Spite or vindictiveness
  • Venom
• Some are bitter against God because of the death of a loved one. They are holding grudges against God because of some unanswered prayer. These are deadly areas to walk in.
• Avoid them.
• Some have cynical and sour where the church is concerned. Maybe they didn’t receive a promotion they though they should have. Maybe they served faithfully and were passed over for someone else.
• There are any myriad of reasons why people become embittered.
• But, it’s a deadly and it can cause havoc in your life.
• Bitterness will cause you to become stony ground. Producing nothing but vile, indignation and anger.

Illustration: The Harvest of Life
Lord Byron died at the age of thirty-seven. Looking back over a reckless and wasteful life, he wrote these words: The thorns which I have reap’d are of the tree
I planted;—they have torn me—and I bleed:
I should have known what fruit would spring from such a seed. ³

• Bitterness will cause you to become hard-hearted.

If you live in a graveyard long enough, you stop crying when someone dies. – Author Unknown

• What’s the key to handling bitterness?
• We have already looked at this in previous posts. Walking in love.
• Walking in love will keep your heart tender instead of stony.
• Hear the Word of God on this.

Ephesians 4:32 (KJV)
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Romans 12:18 (KJV)
18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

Ephesians 4:31 (KJV)
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

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• Walk in love. Walk in forgiveness. Put away bitterness.
• If God asks you to do a thing that means there is automatically power to accomplish it.
• If you say you can’t forgive, you’re lying to yourself. Yes you can. God said you can.
• That’s why He put verses in the Bible on forgiveness.
• He knew there would be a day when you would need to use it.

Mark 11:25 (KJV)
25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Call to Action:

Harvest is a process implying time. The kingdom of heaven takes time to be established in the earth because its establishment is based on sowing and reaping. Individual believers take time to develop because their development is also based on the same law of sowing and reaping. When Jesus spoke of the Sower and the establishment of the kingdom, He was not just referring to the gospel of salvation but also the Word of God in the everyday life of a believer. You can become harvestable ground. You can bring forth fruit unto God.

Question: How have you kept bitterness from gaining a foothold in your life? Please leave a coment in the comments section below.

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