What is the result of unresolved bitterness? - Bitterness - TouchPoints

Genesis 27:41-42Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.” But Rebekah heard about Esau’s plans. So she sent for Jacob and told him, “Listen, Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you.”

The immediate results of bitterness may include devising plans to retaliate against the person who caused us pain. In the story of Jacob and Esau, the gracious intervention of God and Rebekah removed Esau’s opportunity to carry out his destructive plans.

Job 5:2Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple.

Two of the roots of bitterness, resentment and jealousy, become increasingly self-destructive if they are not severed. It is hard to realize that the bitterness, which at first seems so righteous and necessary, gets its energy by consuming its host.

Proverbs 27:3A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier.

Unresolved bitterness leads to hatred, anger, jealousy, and revenge. Resentment is a crushing weight that threatens to destroy us. It can keep us from fellowship with God and others, and it can blind us from noticing God’s blessings.

Hebrews 12:15Look 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 is like a toxin that affects not only you but also everyone around you. The grace of God makes it possible for you to be gracious with others.