Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32.
In this brief passage, the Apostle Paul gives us quite a stack of negative emotions. He even asks us not only to curb them or manage them, but to get rid of them. This means not even a trace of any of this is allowed to remain in our personality or in our interactions with others. My goodness. I find this to be a rather impossible standard, don’t you? In that moment of conflict when our anger and those nasty words we long to fling about rise in us, what are we to do?
The very first passion Paul tells us to eliminate is bitterness. When I looked up the meaning for bitterness, I discovered a list of words to describe food gone bad. Descriptors such as: sour, caustic, biting, cutting, and stinging. Sadly, our souls can become like that too. The Apostle Paul gives us some wise counsel so that we can prevent our souls from resembling food that has spoiled.
In preparing to write this devotional, I searched to find where the word bitter or bitterness appeared in the Bible as it relates to our emotions. The prophets used one of these words frequently to express their grief and sorrow.
James uses it as an adjective to describe envy. James 3:14 says, “But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.”
The book of Hebrews warns against bitterness when it says in chapter 12 verse 15, “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.”
After reading the passage from James and from Hebrews, it makes sense to me why Paul would start his list in Ephesians 4 with bitterness. According to Hebrews, it is the root, or the source, of so much of our negativity.
I remember, a few years back in my own faith journey, God was at work on some pretty substantial formation of my soul. He exposed the beginnings of a bitter root in my life. In his gracious way, he healed me. Then he gave me a choice. I could continue to cultivate the sort of environment that nurtured a bitter root, or I could go a different way and make some changes.
When we go back and look at these passages in Ephesians, Hebrews, and James, we’ll see that each one presents a choice. If the reader dares to leave behind the bitterness Paul calls to attention, they will discover a more wholesome and sustainable way to function.
In Ephesians, Paul invites us, after getting rid of the bitterness and rage and so forth, to be kind and compassionate, to forgive as God forgives. If we back up a little farther in chapter 4, we see that the verse right before the one about bitterness and anger talks of the Holy Spirit. It is possible to grieve him. Practicing bitterness, anger, slander and malice will do it.
Believers have been sealed with the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption (verse 30). We don’t have to rely on negative (i.e. destructive) emotions to make the world go as we think it should. The Holy Spirit of God has already covered our lives and guaranteed for us a portion of God’s saving power.
Get rid of the mechanisms and the tools you rely on to control your world, Paul says. Instead, rely on God’s Spirit to help you love, to show compassion, to be kind, and to forgive.
If we look at the passage from James 3, we see that once James is finished mentioning bitter envy and selfish ambition, he defines wisdom. Here’s a great list of positives to replace the stack of negatives: “But wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere (James 3:17).
James assumes that people who practice these qualities will be peacemakers because he says in the next verse that peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness (verse 18).
In Hebrews, where the bitter root is mentioned, the verse preceding it mentions peace, like the passage in James does. Peace and holiness are actually related because the verse reads like this: “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord” (verse 14).
Without holiness, no one will see the Lord. Last week’s devotional told the story of Hagar and made the point that God sees us. If we make the right choices in our lives, we can help others see God.
Which choice will you make? Have you ever been where I was a few years ago, needing to decide between bitterness and love?
As someone who, with God’s help, victoriously fought this battle, may I champion you to do the hard work to choose love?
Instead of giving your heart, your life, and your integrity over to bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, malice, and envy, partner with the Holy Spirit of God to live in kindness, compassion, forgiveness, peace, holiness, and wisdom.
This season of Lent is a gift to us because it offers us time to consider the costs and make changes. Ask the Lord to give you the courage to search your heart, and then ask him to also redeem you and set you free. A harvest of peace and wisdom awaits.
