Weapons Of Wisdom
- By Christopher J Hardwick
"Overcoming Offence" Part 5
Eph 4:31-32 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from
you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
even as God in Christ forgave you. NKJV
This week I want to take a closer look at bitterness in relation to forgiveness. This like
offense can be well in hidden in a person until an opportune time. It starts with an
offense and develops into a root of bitterness. If bitterness is allowed to stay it will
began to reshape the whole character of person if it is not dealt with. Let’s define
bitterness.
Bitter: 1 having a sharp, pungent taste or smell; not sweet. 2 causing pain or
unhappiness. 3 feeling anger, hurt, and resentment. 4 (of a conflict) harsh and
acrimonious. 5 Acrid as in poison. This comes from the base word Bite.
This is interesting since the word come from the base word bite. This is one of the
main symptoms of a person with bitterness. They bite (with words) the one they are
offended at. When you allow bitterness to take root, it is like a poison that infiltrates
your whole being. It is a deep down feeling of anger, hurt, and resentment. If it is
buried deep within a person, it will have to surface in a person, so it can be pulled out
by the root. God will allow events or similar situations to bring this bitterness to the
surface. When He does through our everyday relationships, the solution is to forgive.
Let all bitterness, wrath, clamor (which means to protest or demand) and evil speaking
be put away from you. If were truly going to be free from bitterness, it starts with being
tenderhearted (Which means to be compassionate) forgiving one another, even as
Christ forgave you. If you want to be Christ like, then mercy will always be your goal. A
person with bitterness or un-forgiveness will always want the person they are offended
with to pay. But no matter how much the person pays, it will never enough to the
person who stays bitter and offended. If you truly forgive from the heart, you will be
able to move on and not revisit the offense ever again! Forgiveness takes the focus off
self, and has mercy and compassion on those that offended them!
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