As we continue in February, we’ve been thinking of some words and how they impact our lives. Today, I’m thinking of a word that will eat a person up! Really. It will.

It is the word BITTERNESS

Listen to what Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus.

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice” (Ephesians 4:31). Paul’s word “bitterness” is pikria (pik-REE_ah). The best picture I can draw about this word BITTERNESS is a person who harbors a wrong and thinks about it often. The more that person thinks about it, the deeper the grudge, the harder the feelings, the deeper the anger, and the greater the distortion of thinking.

I’ll call him Harvey (not his real name.) He was a bitter man. He had the motto, “Offend me once and I am done with you.” Apparently a lot of people offended him because he was done with a lot of people. He could remember and recite every hurt and inconsideration that he had experienced over a period of years. His bitterness drove away his family and friends and robbed him of the joy that he could have experienced.

My prayer for you and me: Lord, you have forgiven much in our lives. Help us to be quick to forgive others. Keep us from bitterness and replace feelings of hurt and offence with your peace and grace.   How will this play out in your life today?