Ever tried to manually pull out a weed from your grass or garden? If so, you’ve probably snapped off the root without getting to its entire core. Those of us who have done this know that when that happens, the root grows back and produces another weed; and so on and so on. So, in order to truly get rid of a weed, one must remove the entire root. Some old school persons will go for the “dig out the entire root” method. Others might use a weed killer spray or granules. Regardless of one’s method, the goal remains the same, kill the root.
Take anger for instance. When anger continues not to be dealt with completely, it slowly develops into bitterness. Bitterness is like that weed, seeking to root itself deep into your life. Read a bit from an article by Skip Heitzig:
Bitterness begins with small seeds. People can upset us, offend us, and especially hurt us, even when they don’t intend to. If we allow whatever a person said or did to hurt us to become a small seed planted in our heart then it grows and can lead to bitterness.
Bitterness develops deep roots. People who let a seed of bitterness grow in the soil of their hearts eventually develop a root system. And while this root system is hidden, it can be destructive. It will choke off your spiritual and emotional life.
Bitterness will produce bad fruit. When the root becomes fruit, springing up through the soil, it grows in two different directions: toward you, causing trouble, and toward others.
I am certain there’s something in your past that you could use as an excuse to become bitter. But don’t let that hurt take root in your heart and begin to grow. Don’t water it with self-exalting thoughts. Don’t fertilize it with other people’s sympathies.
As difficult as it might be sometimes, recognizing bitterness is only the first step. A willingness to “root it out” must happen in order to get rid of it. Whatever method you choose to root out the weed of bitterness, make sure you get the entire root so that it will not grow back. Forgiveness will be key, in fact, essential as part of this process. Combine that with a proper perspective of a realistic goal of where you want to grow towards and you will begin the journey (yes, I said journey) towards rooting out that weed of bitterness. Like anything worth pursuing, change takes time. If and/or when you feel the need to tackle bitterness in your life, contact me and together we can dig out those roots together.
Mike