“Therefore
strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight
paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be
healed. Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will
see the Lord: 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;” Hebrews 12:12-15 NKJV
Anyone
who has had the opportunity to interact with small children knows the
importance of simplifying complex ideas to the point of understanding. Is it any surprise, then, that God uses the
same methods to teach us from His Word?
I especially appreciate how God uses illustrations to explain things to
us, making it easy to grasp exactly the points He is trying to make. This passage is a perfect example of that,
and I want to spend just a few minutes examining what He has to tell us in just
these five verses about the seed called bitterness.
What exactly do you think about when I say the
word “bitter”? I suppose my first
thought was the face someone makes when they bite into a lemon, or something
equally as bitter. It is not pleasant, obviously
shows what they are feeling inside, and usually produces a very negative response. Equally true, I believe most of us would
agree that anyone would or should refrain from tasting something bitter for it
certainly isn’t the sort of pleasant experience one would want to repeat. Yet in this passage, we are told that it is
possible for someone to choose to do exactly that.
The
context of this passage begins in the very first verse when Paul compares our
lives as believers to a race that we all run.
Here in verse twelve, the picture is of a weary runner, “hands which hang
down, and the feeble knees”, illustrating someone at the point of
exhaustion. Since we know Paul is about
to warn us about bitterness, it follows that he is telling us that this is
something that most likely occurs when we are weak, rather than strong. As I thought of that, it seemed to me to make
perfect sense that Satan would rather avoid a strong believer, and look around
for one that is weak and struggling to receive his attack.
While
the first warning concerns guarding our spiritual condition, the second warns
of the direction bitterness will come from.
If Paul entreats us to “pursue peace with all people”, it
follows, then, that it is actions by others which plant the seeds of bitterness in our
lives. Now, although it would at first
seem nice to be able to blame others for our troubles, we should remember what
Paul has already told us in this chapter.
“And
you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: For whom the LORD
loves He chastens, And
scourges every son whom He receives If you endure chastening, God deals with you
as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?” Hebrews 12:5-7 NKJV
So
while it might be convenient to focus on the actions of others towards us, the
reality is that God is using them to chasten us. In essence, bitterness is the result of
misunderstanding the fact that hurts we receive from others are a test from God
to see how we react. Bitterness is what
results when we fail the test by not seeking peace with those that hurt us.
I
hate weeds. If you have ever planted a
garden I would expect that you do too.
What most of us find frustrating is that while we planted seeds of the
things we wanted to grow, none of us planted weed seeds. In fact, I’m reasonably sure I have never
even seen a weed seed. Yet water and fertilize
your garden and guess what shows up?
Paul warns us to seek peace with others “lest any root of bitterness
springing up cause trouble”. We
might not have planted the weed seed, but they are already there waiting to
grow and cause us grief. So too, it is
with the seeds of bitterness. Because of
the actions of others, the seeds of bitterness are probably already there just
waiting to be watered.
That
point brings us to what I believe Paul is really warning us about in this
passage. Bitterness is a choice. In an article about bitterness in Psychology Today, the author said that
all bitterness starts out as a hurt, festers into anger, slowly becomes
resentment, and then turns to bitterness.
Have you ever wondered where weed seeds come from? My garden area is weed free as long as I
don’t water or fertilize. The fact is,
the seeds are there, but they don’t grow until they get what they need in order
to spring up. Paul, describing
bitterness here this way, is telling us that we make the choice to water and
nurture the seeds of bitterness in order to make them grow.
Weeds
steal the nutrients needed by the good plants around them. So too, do the seeds of bitterness steal what
we need to grow and flourish as true believers.
The best time to pull a weed is when it first appears and is small, with
an equally small root. When do we pull
the root of bitterness when it appears in our lives? Just like any weed, at the very beginning
when it first appears. So how best do we do that? Paul said that the key was to “pursue
peace” so obviously rather than trying to “feed the weed” that is
bitterness, as believers we seek to make peace.
The Word leaves no doubt as how we do that as this passage tells us.
“And
whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him,
that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.” Mark 11:25
NKJV
Bitterness
is simply the result of the unwillingness to forgive. Forgiveness is how we seek peace with others
and kill the seeds of bitterness before they have a chance to grow and stunt
our lives and witness for Christ. Are
you experiencing bitterness in your life today?
Are you bitter as a result of something someone else has done? Pursue peace with that person by forgiving
them, and pull the weed of bitterness so you can enjoy life as God intended for
all those who choose to believe in Him.
Keep
watching.
