{"id":71019,"date":"2022-09-06T14:58:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-06T18:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/?p=71019"},"modified":"2022-09-08T09:51:12","modified_gmt":"2022-09-08T13:51:12","slug":"how-to-define-bitterness-and-then-avoid-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/blog\/2022\/09\/how-to-define-bitterness-and-then-avoid-it\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Define Bitterness and Then Avoid It"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Read<\/a>How do you define bitterness<\/a>? Do you wonder how God can turn the bitterness of unmet desire into new flavors of joy?<\/p>\n

Like the flicker of a single match that ends up destroying millions of forrested acres in a wildfire, so bitterness starts small but enlarges with festering cultivation.<\/p>\n

An example of one person’s approach to keeping bitterness at bay in her life is Sara Hagerty, who describes in her book, Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet: Tasting the Goodness of God in All Things<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (Zondervan, 2016), how she found the Bible, anew, when her circumstances were stifled with external struggles. She refused to let bitterness overtake her outlook.<\/p>\n

[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, Bitter Becomes Sweet: An Interview with Sara Hagerty<\/em><\/a>]<\/p>\n

What Are Bitters<\/h2>\n

Bitters is a flavoring added to a beverage or food preparation to create a sharp, pungent, tart, or sour taste. In culinary considerations, bitters may contribute (for some people) to a pleasingly complex taste on a person’s palette, but in personal relationships, the characteristic of bitterness can be harsh and destructive.<\/p>\n

For its negative qualities, bitter herbs are what Israel was commanded at the Feast of Passover<\/a> to eat with the roast lamb and unleavened bread. The observance was meant to symbolize the bitterness and agony of their Egyptian slavery (Exodus 1:14; 12:8<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Bitterness Definition<\/h2>\n

The definition of bitterness is the emotional state of feeling distressed disappointment from unmet expectations or having the perception of being treated unfairly. When a person allows this feeling to fester, the negative emotional mood can spill over to create physical health problems. Research shows that bitter people can have higher blood pressure and heart rate, and can be more likely to die of heart disease and other illnesses.<\/p>\n

Signs Of Bitterness<\/h2>\n

Bitterness is the root from which spring other offensive attitudes and behaviors. The Bible says, “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Hebrews 12:15<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The writer of Hebrews<\/a> goes on to use Esau in the Old Testament<\/a> as an example of being bitter due to his brother, Jacob’s, deception<\/a>, which leads Esau to thoughts of murder. That encounter is similar to the first crime recorded in the Bible of Cain killing Abel. Perhaps out of jealousy and bitterness sprang Cain’s anger toward his brother that caused God to ask Cain, \u201cWhy are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it\u201d (Genesis 4:6-7<\/a>). Cain refused to rule over his harmful attitude and murder was the outcome.<\/p>\n

The Branches of Bitterness<\/h2>\n