"Uprooting Bitterness"

“…you MUST rid yourselves …” (Colossians 3:8—Read verses 1-17 NIV)

I’ve eaten a few Plums in my life, but I never found it particularly inspiring or educational. But one of our team members ate a plum recently and got an insight that I found enlightening. When she first bit into that plum, it tasted very Sweet. But It Didn’t Stay That Way! The closer she got to the Center (core), the More Bitter the Plum Tasted! She explained to me her simple, but probably accurate, theory about this bittersweet taste experience. She said “What the Sun Has Touched Is Sweet; What the Sun Hasn’t Touched Is Bitter.”

I guess, in a way, most of us are like that plum. We have Parts of our Personality, Our Ways of Treating People, Our Ways of Responding to Stress that are Actually Pretty Sweet and Then There Are Those Parts That Are Bitter for Us and Certainly Bitter for the People Close to Us. But once you open the Center/Core of your life to Jesus Christ, you have Divine Power Available to Help Change those Harsh, Distasteful Parts of You Into Something Tasteful and Sweet. It’s part of that Miracle found in 2 Corinthians 5:17 called becoming “A New Creation In Christ.” The Amplified Bible says it like this: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a NEW CREATURE [REBORN AND RENEWED by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, NEW THINGS have come [because spiritual awakening brings a NEW LIFE].” (AMP)
I can tell you from My Own Life, the parts of me that are Becoming Sweeter are the parts of Me that I have Exposed to the “Sunlight” of Jesus Christ. And those things about Me that I Don’t Like, the People Around Me Don’t Like, God Doesn’t Like, Are the Areas Where I Need to More Fully Open Up to the “SON”!

See, the Outside of a plum is Laid Bare, Exposed and Open Before the Sun Daily! It Receives All the Rays the Sun Has to Offer! It’s Touched and Kissed By the Warmth of the Sun and Feels the Power and Energy of the Sun Every Single Day! The Part of the Plum that Takes In All of This From the Sun Every Day Can’t Help But Be Sweet!

HOWEVER, the Closer You Get to the Core of the Plum, the Part that’s Hidden Deep On the Inside, Covered Up and in the Dark, the More Bitter It Becomes! The part of the plum that’s Far Away from being Laid Bare, Exposed and Open to the “Sun” Is Bitter! The part that Doesn’t Receive the Rays of the “Sun” Is Bitter! The part that’s Not Touched or Kissed by the Warmth of the “Sun” and Doesn’t Feel the Power and Energy of the “Sun” Is Bitter! 

The People we Love, the People Around Us, the People Who Are Affected By Us Most, would probably be able to provide a pretty good list of the “Bitter” Parts of Our Personality! And that’s the list that Needs to Become Top Priority for Surrendering to Jesus Christ! It’s a Matter of Calling the Bitter Parts of Us What They Are – No More Defending, Excusing, or Blaming! Simply say, “Jesus, come into this Stubborn, Sinful and Bitter Part of Who I Am and Shine Your Light On It, and Sweeten My Bitter Side—NOW!”

In our text, God Helps us see some Specific Attitudes, Actions and Approaches that are Bitter, and then He Shows Us How it can Become Sweet IF We’ll Remove the Walls Around Those Areas of Our Life!

Colossians 3:1-14, says, “Since…you have been raised with Christ, set your HEARTS on things Above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your MINDS on things Above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God…Put To Death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because Of These, The Wrath Of God Is Coming. You USED TO walk in these ways, in the life You Once Lived. BUT NOW You MUST RID Yourselves Of All Such Things as… Anger, Rage, Malice, Slander, and Filthy Language From Your Lips. Do not lie to each other, Since You Have Taken OFF Your OLD Self With Its Practices and Have Put On the NEW Self, Which Is Being Renewed In Knowledge In the Image Of Its Creator…Therefore, as God’s Chosen People, Holy and Dearly Loved, Clothe Yourselves with Compassion, Kindness, Humility, Gentleness and Patience. Bear With Each Other and Forgive Whatever Grievances You May Have Against One Another. Forgive As the Lord Forgave You. And Over All These Virtues Put On Love, Which Binds Them All Together In Perfect Unity.”

The Powerful Reality About Belonging to Jesus is that You Don’t Have to Keep On Being What You’ve Always Been; Maybe Even What Generations Before You Have Been. Jesus Changes People In Ways They Could Never Change Themselves. But there may be a reason that Your Bitter Has Stayed Bitter! Instead of Repenting and Surrendering it to Jesus, You Keep Looking for Someone to Blame for the Bitter Way You Are! You Keep Replaying the Past, Complaining, Recruiting Sympathy, or Retaliating for What Others Have Done! But You’re NOT Letting the “SON” – the Son of God – Shine On It! It’s Time NOW to Expose Your Bitter Side to the SON so He Can Shine His Rays of Warmth and Sweeten It!

And how do we began to get rid of the things God says are wrong for a believer to have in their lives? Well, Colossians addresses two areas: 

1…HEART: Proverbs 23:7, “For as he THINKS in his HEART, so is he…” (AMP); Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean HEART, O God, and renew a right, persevering and steadfast spirit within me.” (AMPC); Proverbs 4:23, “Keep and guard your HEART with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.” (AMPC); Psalm 119:11, “Your Word have I laid up in my HEART, that I might not sin against You.” (AMPC); Hebrews 4:12, “For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very THOUGHTS and purposes of the HEART.” (AMPC); Matthew 12:34-37, “You have MINDS like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so FOUL-MINDED? It’s your HEART, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.” (MSG); Matthew 15:16-20, “Jesus replied, “You, too? Are you being willfully stupid? Don’t you know that anything that is swallowed works its way through the intestines and is finally defecated? But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the HEART. It’s from the HEART that we vomit up evil arguments, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, and cussing. That’s what pollutes. Eating or not eating certain foods, washing or not washing your hands – that’s neither here nor there.” (MSG)

2…Mind: Philippians 2:5, “Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] MIND be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:] (AMPC); Isaiah 26:3, “You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose MIND [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.” (AMPC); Romans 12:1-2, “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your MIND [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].” (AMPC); Philippians 4:8, “For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, THINK on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your MINDS on them].” (AMPC)

Your heart and mind are the core and center of who you are and who you can become. Once you go to God and ask Him to cleanse, correct and change both for the better, YOU will change for the better. But remember, it’s your heart and your mind. God is not entering your life by force to make you render either one to Him for improving! But if you are to ever rid yourself of the things that should not be in your life, you will have to take your heart and mind to Him! Because like it or not, your bad heart, bad mindset and bad attitude are your responsibility! You can’t point fingers at people around you, when the issue is what’s IN you! As my mom would say, “Everybody Can’t Be Wrong” or with her Mississippi twang: “Erybody Ain’t Lyin”!

Therefore answer the following for Your Own Improvement: 

How many times is Your Name Involved in Discord, Strife, and Under-Handed Intentions? 

How many times are people Complaining About Your Nasty Attitude, Disrespectful Speech, or Malicious Motives? 

How many times is Your Name the Center and Core of Conflict? 

How many times do people walk in the Opposite Direction when they see You Coming? 

How many people would Agree they have No Idea How to Approach You from One End of the Week to the Next? 

Do You Only Work With the Same Few People You Can Intimidate or Control? 

Does Your Actions and Attitude Have the Same Ingredients As Acid? 

Are You Respected or Simply Tolerated? 

Honesty can be Hard! But the ONLY Key to Freedom Is Truth! Therefore, if You Want Freedom From Behind the Bars of Bitterness, It’s Going to take the Key of Brutal Honesty, With Yourself!

When I was preparing to take on my first leadership role in the church over more than 20 years ago, I asked my mom for advice since she’s held management roles for decades for various banking institutions. Her Only Advice Was: “Any Leader Who Self-Examines, Diagnoses and Cures His Own Attitude Ailments, Will Always Have a Healthy Following”. I had that written down in my Missionary-in-training notebook and haven’t used the saying in years! But it was a Great Piece of Advice Then, and Now!

And truth is, even though our bitterness has to be addressed, by no means think that is all that needs to be addressed. Listen again: “…Put To Death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because Of These, The Wrath Of God Is Coming. You USED TO walk in these ways, in the life You Once Lived. BUT NOW You MUST RID Yourselves Of All Such Things as… Anger, Rage, Malice, Slander, and Filthy Language From Your Lips. Do not lie to each other, Since You Have Taken OFF Your OLD Self With Its Practices and Have Put On the NEW Self, Which Is Being Renewed In Knowledge In the Image Of Its Creator…”

In other words saints, we’ve got some work to do! We’ve got a lot to PUT TO DEATH…RID OURSELVES OF, and TAKE OFF, besides BITTERNESS! But let’s look at an important reason why Bitterness is so vital to Uproot!

  Truth is, Outside of God, No One Knows You, Like YOU! So Self-Exam Today! Admit the Areas in Your Life that Are Bitter and Ask the SON to Sweeten Them Because Your Bitterness Doesn’t Just Affect You!  Listen to the Scripture:  

“Exercise foresight and be on the watch to look [after one another], to see that no one falls back from and fails to secure God’s grace (His unmerited favor and spiritual blessing), in order that NO ROOT OF RESENTMENT (RANCOR, BITTERNESS, OR HATRED) SHOOTS FORTH AND CAUSES TROUBLE AND BITTER TORMENT, AND THE MANY BECOME CONTAMINATED AND DEFILED BY IT.” (Hebrews 12:15 AMP).

Your Bitterness, According to the BIBLE: “CONTAMINATES AND DEFILES MANY”! 

The word “Contaminate” means “To Make Impure By Exposure To Or Addition Of A Poisonous Or Polluting Substance”. It’s Latin Origin “Contaminare” Literally Means “To Pollute By CONTACT”. 

The word “Defile” means “To Make Dirty; Spoil; Pollute or Desecrate.” It’s Old French Origin “Defouler” Literally means “To Trample Down.” 

People of God, whether it’s the People In Your Family, On Your Job, or In Your Church,  Your Bitterness is Literally: Making Them Impure, Dirty, Spoiled, Polluted, Desecrated and Trampled Down, All Because Of Their Simple EXPOSURE and CONTACT To YOU AND YOUR BITTERNESS! If That’s Not Enough Reason to Sweeten Your Bitter Side, NOTHING ELSE IS!

Lastly, we’ve learned that we have to guard our HEART and MIND, but let us not forget about our MOUTH too: 

“…BUT NOW You MUST RID Yourselves Of All Such Things as… Anger, Rage, Malice, Slander, and Filthy Language From Your LIPS. Do not lie to each other…”

If you work on your heart and mind, your mouth will come under subjection too!
There’s a Gospel song that says, “The Longer I Serve Him, The Sweeter He Grows.” Let’s add a verse. “The Longer I Serve Him, The Sweeter I’ll Grow.” 

 
Today, Do Yourself and Others a Huge Favor and Determine To Sweeten Your Bitter Side! 

Remember: Bitterness Contaminates Everyone it Comes in Contact With!

Don’t Let the Defilement of Many Come From You as the Source! 

Conquer the Bitterness Battle Within! 

Uproot Your Bitterness Today, So That the Garden of Your Soul Flourishes!

“Don’t let bitter, unhappy people drag you down to their level. Instead, use their behavior as an example of how NOT to behave and be grateful you are nothing like them.” (Author Unknown)

“When other people treat you poorly, keep being you. Don’t ever let someone else’s bitterness change the person you are.” (Author Unknown)

“Choose to be Better, Instead of bitter.” (Author Unknown)

“Bitterness is a result of clinging to negative experiences. It serves you no good and closes the door to your future.” (Leon Brown)

“You either get bitter or you get better. It’s that simple. You either take what has been dealt to you and allow it to make you a better person, or you allow it to tear you down. The choice does not belong to fate, it belongs to you.” (Josh Shipp)

“Release bitterness, forgive those who have hurt you, let go of disappointment, and start living in faith.” (Billy Cox)

“Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry – are all forms of fear – which are caused by too much future; and not enough present. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of unforgiveness are caused by too much past and not enough present.” (Eckhart Tolle)

“Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.” (Corrie Ten Boom)

“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.” (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.)

“Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

“Bitterness is its own prison.” (Max Lucado)

“I know from personal experience how damaging it can be to live with bitterness and unforgiveness. I like to say it’s like taking poison and hoping your enemy will die. And it really is that harmful to us to live this way.” (Joyce Meyer)

“There is enough heartache and sorrow in this life without our adding to it through our own stubbornness, bitterness, and resentment.” ( Dieter F. Uchdorf)

“Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host.” (Dr. Maya Angelou)

“For forgiveness to work in your life, it has to be genuine. It has to come from the heart. When it does, it is so powerful that bitterness fades away and you are able to see the gifts in what has happened. I also think forgiveness is a kind of humility.” (Winsome Campbell-Green)

“As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.” (Nelson Mandela)

“Bitterness is like drinking rat poison and waiting for the rat to die.” (John Ortberg, Jr.)

“Gratitude is the antidote to bitterness and resentment.” (M.J. Ryan)

“Our bitterness forces happiness to abandon us and look for someone more open where it can thrive.” (Author Unknown)

“Bitterness is so ugly. I don’t want to go there.” (Amy Heckerling)

“People can be more forgiving than you can imagine. But you have to forgive yourself. Let go of what’s bitter and move on.” (Bill Cosby)

“I never met a bitter person who was thankful, or a thankful person who was bitter.” (Nick Vujicic)

“The problem is that many bitter people don’t know they are bitter. Since they are so convinced that they are right, they can’t see their own wrong in the mirror. And the longer the root of bitterness grows, the more difficult it is to remove.” (Craig Groeschel)

Much Love, Dr.Shermaine, #InformativeRead #PleaseShare #HealthyBodySoulAndSpirit #IWantYou2LiveWell #BeHealed #BeFree
 
"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)
"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)