[Tuesday's Devotional] - Bitter Roots

"Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 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 12:14-15

Yesterday I confessed to a little family disharmony, and my struggles with discipline. It's not always easy to love each other all the time, and unconditionally. It's easy to say but not so easy to live out. But today's verse tells us we should make every effort to live in peace, and to remain holy. Again, easy to read and to say, but not so easy to live out.

There have been times for me when I have really struggled with this, and although I know that I shouldn't be niggled by things others do, or say or do things that I know will be hurtful, my human nature does sometimes win and I end up not living in peace with others. I know relationships have been damaged as a result, and I also know that the hurt caused by this goes on far longer than the actual issue lasted. Bitterness can very quickly take a hold, and that bitterness can take a long time to die off and be healed over.

I hate to see friends not getting along, or cruel things being said about them, and so I aim to stop any gossip or unhelpful talk about others spreading. It is easy for a cross word or a rumour to spread, so we must be on our guard to stop unhelpful things taking root. I believe we have a duty to protect our friends, and our families, and to be the wall of protection around them when bitterness is set to attack them. Sometimes, it just needs pointing out to the perpetrator, and then hopefully the issue can quickly and easily be resolved. But at other times the bitterness can have a strong hold, and so we need to confess our failure and our bitterness to God, and allow Him to come in and take it from us. Hanging on to it will only tire us out and drag us further down, and ignoring the issue will never make it go away. We need to face up to the issue and the roots of bitterness or resentment that are taking over and then hand it over to God and let Him destroy the roots so it cannot return. Then we can learn to live in peace and holiness with each other once again.

Corinne Mason.

Read the Bible in a year: Psalm 126:1-6, Ezekiel 28:1-29:21, Hebrews 12:14-29