Bitterness is a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will [syn: resentment, gall, rancor, rancour]. It is a sharp and bitter manner [syn: acrimony, acerbity, jaundice]; the taste experience when quinine or coffee is taken into the mouth [syn: bitter]: the property of having a harsh unpleasant taste [syn: bitter].
Brief Explanation:
Over the years I have prayed with many men and women who had at the root of their depression and anxiety, bitterness. Bitterness can so pollute the soul as to make one unable to develop healthy relationships with anyone. Resentment and unforgiveness often run parallel with bitterness. A cocktail, if swallowed, can destroy the heart of the one drinking, and hurts others nearby. The only real hope for the bitter at heart is to face the truth of the bitterness, rather than blaming the one they are bitter against, and repent…beginning with forgiveness, a process more than an event, but absolutely necessary for the release from the pain that bitterness can cause.
The Word of God:
Ephesians 4:31, 32
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
Hebrews 12:14, 15
“Pursue peace with all men and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.”
Colossians 3:19
“Husbands, love your wives, and do not be embittered against them.”
James 3:10-11; 14
“From the same mouth comes both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.”
