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The New King James Version of Hebrews 12:15 says "...looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled…". This article is about a root of bitterness, roots of bitterness, any roots of bitterness at all. We may well ask just what does this mean? During our lifelong journey we can encounter some ugly things whereby others have misjudged us based on outward appearances without being able to understand the motivation and intention of our heart. This could be one reason why we harbour pain and hurtful feelings until the next unfortunate incident. Perhaps you were overlooked and not invited on a group outing by family or friends but found out about it after the fact. People tend to say "I think this or that" (you fill in the blanks) but truly have no idea what they are talking about. Reality shows that they are merely guessing, or relying on second hand news, yet this can involve harming reputations. Best to say a simple "I don't really know" instead. There are a myriad of reasons for which a Christian man or woman can be hurt and over the years these can add up and potentially cause a root of bitterness if not carefully dealt with at the time. Some of us may just shrug it off and think everything will be alright but no, we really do need to tackle the issues at hand in order to ensure we are not "running away from them" or ignoring them, but rather talk them out in prayer to God from a sincere and humble heart.
Have you ever harboured a root of bitterness? Interesting use of the word harbour meaning it would be like keeping a vessel anchored in a harbour — a boat going nowhere, stationary in water — malcontent in one's heart until it becomes bitter because you have not attended to this in order to move on. Vessels over time develop barnacles, hard and crusty growths that impede their motility. What to do? These need removing and the problem needs work but first one must look for any issues and the best way to do this is via careful self-examination. Who would have thought this could happen to any one of us, let alone you or me? Highly unlikely, but not so for it can happen to anyone and it does. At the end of the day when we draw our last breath it will be too late to have any regrets therefore each year during our Passover preparation this is the time to dig deep and get rid of any poisonous roots. Just one root of bitterness can infiltrate and take hold causing much damage spreading many tentacles twisted up in sinful thoughts and sinful behaviour leading to defilement. Now we enter extremely dangerous territory where the devil revels in demanding his will over all others, even God. This should cause us to seriously heed and consider God's warnings throughout the Bible.
Is it easier for those who are sensitive among us to struggle with this issue? Think about it, what is God doing with us? He is perfecting us, making us ready for His soon coming Kingdom where we will need to help very damaged individuals. There will be no room for any sensitivity then, rather, the task at hand. Right here, right now God is getting us to see our own faults and foibles in order to change — this means removing sensitivities that get in the way of developing and having a sound, healthy heart and mind. However, we are to be sensitive to the genuine needs of others because we have managed to develop Christ-like character and God's qualities through living righteously only because we have God's Holy Spirit dwelling within, for we must listen and allow His Spirit to lead us. When we do this we are being "toughened up" during the transformative process because we have learned lessons through experiences, overcoming tests and trials, and whatever God has allowed in our life in order to resemble Him. This is important to ensure we are ready for the Passover when we rededicate our life to God annually. If we are not our usual content self and cannot "let something go" because it comes back to our mind over and over again, then it is time to recognise we have a problem. When a perceived injustice has been done usually it involves pride, jealousy, envy, or a sense we have been wronged. Imagine the following scenario whereby one individual was deeply upset over a perceived wrong while the other believed they were acting in a Godly manner. Two poles apart. What do we do then? Their accounts do not match up so something should tell us there is a problem. Jeremiah 17:9-10 speaks of our hearts by stating "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings".
During the years of living a converted life there were times when others became offended and even stopped attending Sabbath services to drift away back into the ways of the world. This was very shocking to me therefore I determined in my heart to learn from this and ensure it would not happen to me. What was the worst offense I could think of? Having a new member come into God's Church after torturing and killing all my family. Sitting next to them on the Sabbath and fellowshipping seemed like there was an imposter amongst us — how could trust and love develop in this atmosphere of fear and danger? My thoughts were of Saul who became Paul the Apostle. The thing is Paul was truly converted and my perception of him would be wrong. Do I want to fight against God also? Certainly not, so it is best to have a really good and tight relationship with Him in order to have right discernment and everything that comes with this such as peace, joy and love. Over the years God has shown me that there will be times when little offences occur. One at a time seems to be not so bad and even manageable, but we must not fool ourselves because these can accumulate and build up to where our minds can get us into trouble with faulty human logic and reasoning thereby leading us off the straight and narrow path down onto a windy, crooked path without even realizing it. Offences will come and go, therefore we tackle them and let them go.
If you have identified something you cannot seem to let go of and think this could be a root of bitterness then there is something important you must do. Get on your knees and pray asking God for help and forgiveness in order to forgive others. You may be right and they may be wrong but the thing is if they won't listen to you then you have a dilemma on your hands. There are no dilemmas too hard for God to listen to. He will always help us but we need to do our part too. Fasting is another awesome way to get to the heart of the matter and unpack all the bits and pieces until you feel more confident to come to the point of tackling the situation. While listening to some sermons on harbouring a root of bitterness I had an "Aha moment" whereby everything became more clear in what to do in my predicament. It was painful but necessary and once I heard the word sorry it was so much easier to forgive. Forgiveness is the antidote; do we not want to be forgiven by God? Remember that how we forgive others, this is how we will be forgiven. It is written in Matthew 5:23-24 "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift".
Here are a couple of links below for excellent sermons which will be most helpful even if you do not have any bitterness in your heart because they are full of practical wisdom to bear in mind. The first sermon is from Mr. Gary Petty and runs for about 68 minutes. The second one is by Mr. Dan Preston running just over 50 minutes.
https://www.ucg.org/sermons/root-of-bitterness-5
https://www.ucg.org/sermons/a-root-of-bitterness-3