Ephesians 4.31–5.2
31 Let all bitterness and wrath
and anger and clamor and slander
be put away from you, along with all malice.
32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another,
as God in Christ forgave you.
5.1 Therefore be imitators of God,
as beloved children.
2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us
and gave himself up for us,
a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
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Bitterness reveals that I have a major flaw in my understanding of the Gospel. It may be totally true that I have been deeply wronged or mistreated, and my inner sense of justice (which isn’t always a sinful attitude) may be right, but these things never give me a free pass to become bitter. Bitterness reveals my desire to be God, the Judge. It reveals that I don’t trust His ways, timing, work, or plan. It reveals that I see a better way to enact correction, justice, and make things right.
Bitterness reveals that I desire mercy and grace for myself, but not for others. I believe that I myself deserve God’s patience and longsuffering, but “those other people” certainly do not deserve it! They deserve God’s justice! Ultimately, bitterness causes me not only to murder others in my heart (Matthew 5.21-22, 1 John 3.15), but it also causes me to commit suicide in my heart. It slowly kills me, robbing me of joy, peace, and my thankfulness for God’s grace. It radically distorts the Gospel, and turns the Gospel into something that I have earned, and that others don’t deserve. It’s sickening, to the point of a type of emotional, mental, and spiritual death in my heart and mind.
Resentment is like taking poison
And hoping the other person dies.
-Augustine of Hippo, 354 to 430 A.D.
I can only pray that I would despise and hate bitterness; that I would never even flirt with it or entertain it, even when the facts surrounding my bitterness may even be 100% true. I must consider my Lord, who was always 100% in the right and never sinned, and by our standards, He had every right to become bitter towards anyone He encountered, yet He did no such thing. If He, who never deserved any wrong done to Him, could turn the other cheek and instead forgive, how much more should I be willing to do so?
The Gospel reminds me that since Jesus was able to not have resentment in His heart towards others, I am also able. When I “consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself” (Hebrews 12.3), I can draw from His example, but also from the very power that He supplies me with that comes from the same strength that dwelled in Him (2 Peter 1.3-4, Colossians 1.29).
Read Again Out Loud and Make it into a Prayer:
Ephesians 4.31–5.2
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Personalize and Read or Pray Aloud:
Psalm 73.21–26
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth
that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
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Pray Aloud:
I pray to You, O Most High,
as the light of the sun comes forth,
May the Name of Christ
arise and be with me, Lord;
You reign forever.
-Antiphonary of Bangor, Ireland, 7th Century
Father, I want to see Your Name lifted
above all other names in ________ life.
I am asking that Your Spirit would be at work,
that Your Kingdom would come
and Your will would be done
in ________ heart and life as it is in heaven.
Would You please give __________
truth that grabs them, encourages them,
and guides them to trusting in You.
Help me to forgive those
that have sinned against me,
and remind me that You have forgiven me
for all of my own sin against others.
Lead ___________ out of temptation
and towards Your truth.
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