Bitterness...

My brother is doing a sermon on bitterness and ask for my thoughts or any stories I could come up with. I told him I would blog on it. When I tried to think of stories of bitterness, it hit me the difference between bitterness and anger. Anger is a reaction to a moment. Bitterness is the under belly reaction to many moments based on unmet expectations. Anger is displayed on everyone, where bitterness is held for those within a closer relationships. Let me explain. If a husband is telling a story to some friends and the wife interrupts, he is angry. If this happens time and time again he grows bitter towards his wife. In Colossians 3:19, Paul sees this as a problem and says, "Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them." It is hard to give illustrations of bitterness without getting personal, b/c it lies under the surface. Much like envy, it is a very selfish and personal sin. I know I have held bitterness towrds some in my life. Whether it was that business partner that was suppose to be taking care of things, yet was only looking out for himself or just the guy who talks so loud on the phone in the office everyday. When bitterness shows it's face it does so in anger, sarcaism, or even rage. It is not just about that moment, but serveral moments. We expect someone to act differently, to act more kind, or to act less selfish, but that is just our expectation, it is not the reality of who they are. The only answer I see to bitterness is forgiveness. You cannot change the other person or the circumstance. You can only change yourself and how you see and handle the situations. If needed you can remove yourself from it, but you can only change you. Forgiveness is the antidote for bitterness. When forgiveness is given, it is like you have cleaned out your insides and let love take the place of that bitterness and hate. Whether you are bitter towards God or man, it is amazing what a deeper understanding of forgiveness can bring. Those are my thoughts right now. I may add more examples later. Hope that helps, Bro!