“31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:31-32(NLT)
There are many different cultures, traditions, languages, and races in our world, and yet there are some things that all of us have in common. One of them is the reality that no one can hurt you more than someone in your own family. We saw this right from the beginning, first with Adam and Eve, and then with their children, Cain and Abel. Eve led Adam down the most catastrophic path in human history, and Cain murdered his own brother, Abel, because of jealousy and anger. Our family is our greatest blessing because without them, we wouldn’t be here, but there can also be negative dynamics in our families that cause us a great deal of pain. Sometimes we become bitter about those wounds, and never confront our resentment through God’s love.
Did you know that carrying resentment and bitterness in our hearts can prevent us from showing God the appreciation He deserves? Heavenly Father warns us in Hebrews 12:14-15(NLT), “14 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. 15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” Bitterness corrupts, and it not only disrupts our peace, but it impacts others as well. When resentment and bitterness take root in our hearts, we cannot appreciate God in the way that He deserves, and therefore, we won’t fully appreciate the work we are purposed to carry out. We are to be conduits of His love, not just to our families, but to everyone. To do this, we must be obedient to forgive and pray even for those that have caused us pain. It doesn’t always happen overnight, but we must work towards a heart of forgiveness.
God has given each of us a race to run in life. It’s not a race that you and I can setup, He does that. God has assigned each of us a unique purpose within His Will, and running our race is carrying forth and completing the purpose God has assigned us. Hebrews 12:1 tells us to cast off the weights that slow us down on this race, so that we don’t end up with an ankle sprang from things that can cause us to trip. Resentment and bitterness will cause us to trip. Heavenly Father commands us to get rid of them so that we can keep running our races.
When a family member or a friend does something terrible against us or someone we’re close to, many of us hold it against them. The feelings that are tied to ‘holding it against them’ is a grudge we’re holding. It’s stored in our hearts, and it is toxic to many aspects of our existences. The grudge comes bundled with resentment and bitterness towards the person, and even though we may be targeting our anger at the person, the real damage is taking place towards our relationship with God.
Whether it is toward a relationship, person, or situation, resentment and bitterness block us from appreciating God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Every part of us is hurt when we fail to give God the appreciation that He is due. Acts 17:28 tells us that it is in God that we live, move, and have our being, but we stifle His Spirit when we do not live and move in His love. Ultimately, we must desire to love God higher and appreciate Him much more than we want to cling to the negativity of resentment, bitterness, and anger. We cannot do both, so the greatest thing we can do for our relationship with Him is to get rid of anything that weighs us down. He will help us do this so that we develop a forgiving heart and allow His love to rule in our lives. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Failing to Show Appreciation”, written by Kraia and Fran for Springfield Fellowship, Inc. ©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!
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