"Pursue peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see The Lord: looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled." [Heb 12:14-15]
Hebrews is a book full of serious warnings, warnings that prick and prod us in the way of righteousness and give us a healthy fear of God, that we might more perfectly fulfil that word which was given to us of God through Peter,
“And if ye call on The Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, out from your vain manner of living receive by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” [1 Pe 1:17-19]
We find one such warning in our verse for today: “pursue…holiness, without which no man shall see The Lord,” and in that pursuit we are to be, “looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you…” [Heb 12:14-15] Bitterness is a serious thing; regarding the false confession of Simon the Sorcerer, Peter said to him, “I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.” [Acts 8:23] Bitterness was preventing Simon, that poor soul, from truly receiving Christ. He was looking upon the apostles and the work of The Spirit, and then upon his own life and lack of The Spirit, and found himself in a bitter state, saying, “give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive The Holy Ghost.” [Acts 8:19] Bitterness is truly a deadly affliction, for it prevents us from truly believing. We are told also in Ephesians,
“And grieve not The Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and loud shoutings/voices, and slander, be put away from you with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” [Eph 4:30-32]
According to Webster, bitterness means, “…extreme [ill will], [unwillingness to benefit], hatred…sharpness; [harshness] of temper…” [Webster] Bitterness is an evil which causes men to be unwilling to benefit those whom they are bitter against; it is a self-inflicted poison which causes hatred, sharpness, ill will, and a harsh temper. An antonym of bitterness is benevolence, which means, “the disposition to do good; good will; kindness; [the disposition to be charitable]; the love of mankind, accompanied with a desire to promote their happiness.” [Webster] See how benevolence is a reflection of God’s character and how bitterness is a reflection of satan’s. The LORD is benevolent, for benevolence is apart of the definition of gracious, and as it is written, “The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” [Ex 34:6] And thus, seeing as the Christian is to “proclaim the glories/excellencies of Him who hath called [him] out of darkness into His marvelous light,” [1 Pe 2:9] and to, “in all things exhibit [themselves] as the ministers of God…by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by love unfeigned,” [2 Cor 6:4, 6] then the Christian ought to fight against bitterness, doing all that is necessary to diligently avoid it.
As far as bitterness goes, it is closely associated with wormwood, a plant which the Bible describes as poisonous. In Proverbs the connection is made, speaking of the immoral woman, “but her end is bitter as wormwood,” [Prov 5:4] and is complimented by Revelation, which reveals wormwood’s deadliness: “…and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.” [Rev 8:11]
Seeing that we have made a connection between bitterness and poison, let us look at a picture, which will add to our understanding of bitterness. Poison ivy is an innocent looking plant, but hidden beneath its simple appearance is as the name suggests: poison. Poison ivy is spotted easiest in the fall, when the leaves in deciduous environments begin to change color. For it is then, that poison ivy is marked out, becoming bright red instead of the usual green. Instead of blending in with the other foliage, poison ivy is pronounced and bright: a brilliant red leaf.
For us, let this remind us of bitterness in the Christian. A man who is filled with bitterness may well enough hide in the summer and spring seasons, when things are good and all is right. But when the fall and winter come, when the colder and darker times come, their true nature is exposed. That which is within their heart: whether it be love or whether it be bitterness, is exposed openly through the afflictions of life. What do your afflictions teach you, dear reader? Do they expose your bitterness, with bright red leaves as the poison ivy plant? Or do your afflictions reveal and usher forth the love of God that has been poured out into your heart? As it says in Hebrews, let us apply ourselves unto: that we might be pure of the root of bitterness: that the poison of bitterness wrap not itself around us. For we know too, that just as a tree wrapped in poisonous ivy is seldom approached, touched, or enjoyed, so too the bitter Christian is seldom given the chance to truly bless others with the love of God, for that bitterness in them is a repellant unto others and spreads nothing but death and evil into others’ lives.