Bitter Roots
Hebrews 12:15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.
In February 1990 the Los Angeles County Bomb Squad received a call about a suspicious pickup truck parked in downtown LA. They checked it out and discovered 400 pounds of explosives in five 55 gallon drums. Had the bomb been detonated, it would have blown a crater seventy-five feet wide and twenty feet deep.
The man they arrested had a history of setting off explosives in the area, though his previous bombs had been small and no one had ever been injured. This one surely would have caused severe damage.
Why was he doing it? Why was he planting bombs in downtown LA? Well, the bombs were all in or near the IRS building. It turns out this man had a vendetta against the IRS. They owed him money, or so he thought, and he wasn't going to leave them alone until he got every penny of it back. The amount he believed they owed to him? Fourteen dollars.
It's hard to believe the desire for revenge can become so strong that someone would destroy lives--including their own--in the quest for it. But it happens again and again.
Today’s verse would have spoken to the man had he read it. It talks about the poisonous root of bitterness.
Let’s be honest, it is easy to get bitter. Someone says or does something ugly to you, and instead of forgiving them and moving on, you stew. You conjure up scenarios in your head where you had just the perfect answer, or you plot revenge. All for fourteen dollars.
The more you think about it, the worse it gets. It festers like a gangrenous sore, and just like that sore, it makes you miserable. Soon, it has a ripple effect in your life as your bitterness spreads to people around you. You don’t hate them, but they suffer the consequences of your bitterness.
What is the remedy? Don’t get bitter, get better. Forgive others whether the slight is big or small. Paul wrote:
Colossians 3:13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Take a moment right now to forgive those who have hurt you, it’s the best thing for you, and for others.
Today’s Readings: Isaiah 22-24; Hebrews 12
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