For 2,454 days, from March 16, 1985 until December 4, 1991, Associated Press Bureau Chief, Terry Anderson was held captive in West Beirut, Lebanon by Islamic militants. This husband and father was starved, beaten, taunted, humiliated, threatened with death, falsely promised release and had almost seven years of his life stolen from him. Anderson holds the distinction of being the longest held American hostage

In an interview with reporters, after his release, Mr. Anderson was asked, "Can you ever forgive your captors?"

He replied, "As a Christian I have no choice."

Actually, that's not entirely true. Believers have two choices when we are hurt by people. We can forgive, receive God's grace and eventually be better. Or we can refuse to forgive, and become an old, dried-up piece of human flesh consumed with bitterness.

It is this last choice that is exposed in Hebrews 12.

The Watching to Which we are Called
"...Looking diligently…" This is a command [imperative] in the Greek text. We are called to be on guard against the intrusion of this enemy-bitterness. Too much of the time we go through life carelessly, with little thought of attitudes we pick up and actions that we follow.

The Warning by Which we are Cautioned
"... lest any man…" Who is that? That's you and me. That's any of us. That's all of us.

The Wandering of Which we are Capable
"...fail of the grace of God…" We need to understand this phrase correctly. The grace of God never fails us, but we can fail of the grace of God. Can you understand the difference? We can never blame God for our situation. This term "fail" was borrowed from a party of travelers, some of whom lag behind. It also had the idea of falling behind in a race and failing to reach the finish line.

Think of the enabling graces God has made available to follow Him and to do His will-the indwelling Holy Spirit, the written Word of God, prayer, membership in a New Testament congregation, the fellowship of God's people, and many other such blessings. But a believer can fail to take advantage of the grace God has made available.

This word "fail" [a present tense participle] warns not of a single defection, but of a repetitive and habitual lifestyle.

Grace is the good we receive at the hand of God which we do not deserve; the slightest bit is more than any of us deserve.

"...lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled…" This phrase harkens back to what would have been a familiar warning in Deuteronomy 29:18. "Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;"

Get out your spiritual spade and let's dig around this root of bitterness and expose it.

The Condemnation of Bitterness

The Bible does not give a good report to give of those who have determined to remain bitter. People who are bitter become victims of their own anger and hate.

Christians can Become Bitter
Some see bitterness as a minor irritation, like a mild rash, when, in fact, it is a deadly cancer. Even most modern Christians still don't feel comfortable with adultery, stealing, murder and the like, but bitterness is usually allowed to go unchecked. Bitterness is a sin. It is a mark of a person who is unsaved. Among the detestable things that are seen in a person that is unsaved is their speech. "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:"

Romans 3:14. Even knowing how evil and wicked bitterness is, it still shows up where it is not welcome or wanted.

Companions Experience Bitterness
"Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them." Colossians 3:19. Relationships as wonderful as marriage can be breeding grounds for deep-seated and long-lasting bitterness. The fires of divorce are fueled by bitterness. Too many times the "better half" is the "bitter half."

Congregations Can Breed Bitterness
Churches have been known to face and fight bitterness. One young pastor was told after he had been on the scene at his new church for a few weeks, "You're the first pastor that both sides of the church like." Paul enjoined the church at Ephesus, "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:" Ephesians 4:31.

Everywhere you turn in Scripture, either in people or in principle, bitterness is soundly condemned as behavior not suitable for a child of God. Bitterness blows out the candle of joy and leaves the soul in the dark.

The Germination of Bitterness

Bitterness is Like a Root
"...lest any root of bitterness..." Here bitterness is not likened to a "seed," but to a "root." Bitterness is not a tiny, weak thing like a "seed." Rather, bitterness is a large, strong "root" that is fully developed.

Bitterness is also like a root in that it grows underground, below the surface, out of sight. A real person is not their plastic smile or extended hand. Its all about what goes on in the heart. Seldom do you find anyone who will openly admit they are bitter. They either deny it or disguise it. Roots of bitterness, thought by some to be dead, were actually only dormant waiting for the wrong moment to reveal itself.

Like a root, bitterness flourishes in dirt - the dirtier the dirt the better for bitterness. Almost any kind of dirt will do. If you find some character flaw in the person about whom you are bitter, your evil conscience is eased for the moment and you think your feelings are justified.

Bitterness is, also, tough like a root. Have you ever tried to uproot a root once it is rooted? If you think digging up the root of bitterness is quick and easy, think again. When bitterness takes root in our lives, we cannot deal with it on a surface level! The problem is deeper and will likely require more time and effort that we first imagine.

Bitterness is like a root in that it is hidden, but it eventually bears a terrible harvest of misery to us and others.

Bitterness can Develop Rapidly
"springing up..." We are taught by this phrase that bitterness can "spring up." A. T. Robertson, the Greek scholar, says what is pictured here is a "quick process."

Bitterness can take root in the soil of our soul at any given moment-ready or not! One Sunday morning, more than thirty-five years ago, I was greeting folk before church like I always did and a dear, elderly lady looked particularly nice. So I complimented her on how nice she looked. I had no idea what I had just done. She was not back for church that night for the evening service [she was a deacon's wife and always there] and word got back to me that I had hurt her feelings. The next day I went by her home and asked what was wrong. She told me Sunday was the first day she had worked up enough courage to wear her new wig and then I had to say something about it. She flipped her wig! I immediately and sincerely apologized for any misunderstanding, but she ended up leaving the church anyway. She is now in heaven [without her wig] and I am sure she has all her facts straight by now. All of that happened so quickly. One Sunday she was in church and everything was fine. The next thing I knew, she and her husband were headed to another church for better treatment.

The Devastation of Bitterness

Do you see what bitterness does? It "... Trouble[s] you…" Hebrews 12:15. This word means "to annoy."

A man and his young son were in the car when the boy asked, "Dad, what are we doing?" The dad answered, "Son, we need to go to the drug store to get some more medicine for mama's colitis." The little boy replied, "Who's mama been colliding with now?" When we collide with people, someone ends up being troubled. Hurt people hurt people.

A woman had been bitten by mean dog and there was a real possibly of her contracting hydrophobia. The attending physician suggested, "You should seriously consider writing out your last wishes." The doctor gave her a pen and some paper and left the room. After some time the doctor returned to find her still writing and asked, "Is that your will you are writing out?" She answered, "No! It's a list of people that I want to bite!" Trouble people are trouble!

Dr. S.I. McMillen, in his book None of These Diseases, lists fifty-one diseases caused by emotional stress. There is no greater stress than having an unforgiving spirit and the bitterness that goes along with it. Look at Dr. McMillen's insights.

"The moment I start hating a man, I become his slave. I can't enjoy my work anymore because he even controls my thoughts. My resentment produces too many stress hormones in my body and I become fatigued after only a few hours of work. The work I formerly enjoyed is now drudgery. Even vacations cease to give me pleasure. It may be a luxurious car that I drive along a lake fringed with the autumnal beauty of maple, oak and birch. As far as my experience of pleasure is concerned, I might as well be driving a wagon in mud and rain. The man I hate hounds me wherever I go. I can't escape his tyrannical grasp on my mind. When the waiter serves me porterhouse steak and French fries, asparagus, crisp salad, and strawberry shortcake smothered with ice cream, it might as well be stale bread and water. My teeth chew the food and I swallow it, but the man I hate will not permit me to enjoy it...The man I hate may be many miles from my bedroom; but more cruel than any slave driver, he whips my thoughts into such a frenzy that my innerspring mattress becomes a rack of torture."

People are troubled by bitterness. Those who are bitter wreck their own lives. They destroy their joy, their friends, their peace, their testimony, and their power with God.

Several years ago I was asked to be with a man's family at the hospital where he was was having cancer surgery. Tom had raised three girls and then later in life divorced their mother and married Betty. Betty had loved Tom and was a good wife to him. For years Tom's three grown daughter had refused to recognize Betty as their father's wife. The day I entered the hospital room the spirit of bitterness and tension was so real it could not be ignored. I greeted everyone and then Tom asked me to pray. I prayed a prayer that day that I had never prayed before, nor since. I remember it so clearly. I said, "Dear Lord, you know the need Tom has as he faces this surgery for cancer. But, Lord, before we ask you to do anything for Tom physically, I pray you will deal with the cancer of bitterness that has destroyed this family for years." By that time I was watching and praying, wanting to back out of the room for self-preservation. When I closed my prayer and looked up, everyone in the room was crying and those three daughters moved around the end of the bed to Betty and for the first time hugged her and asked for her forgiveness. What a victory over bitterness God gave that day!

Someone has observed, "Bitterness is the poison we drink hoping the other person will die." The fruit of bitterness is an acid that destroys its container.

The Contamination of Bitterness

"…and thereby many be defiled..." Hebrews 12:15. "The impact of bitterness is not merely on the individual harboring it; bitterness also overflows. The bitter soul always attempts to build alliances-to recruit individuals to affirm his pain and plight….There's no such thing as a bitter person who keeps the bitterness to himself."

Notice first the number who are contaminated, "many."

And, second, look at the nature of the contamination, "defiled." The idea of the word is to be stained, to become dirty.

We have all seen it happen. One bitter person can do more to destroy a church than a dozen Spirit-filled soul-winners can do to build it.

Dale Carnegie told of a trip he made to Yellowstone National Park. It was in the day when there were plenty of grizzly bears and people could sit at a distance and watch them eat. Carnegie noticed as he sat in the grand stands that there was only one other animal that the giant grizzly allowed to eat with him-the skunk. He said he thought about it for a while and then it came to him why. Carnegie said, "The grizzly knew the high cost of getting even!"

The Illustration of Bitterness

This passage uses Esau as an illustration of the bitterness we should avoid. "Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears." Hebrews 12:16-17.

While Esau did not lose his position as a son, he chose to forfeit the birthright with its accompanying blessing. When Esau is likened to a "fornicator" or "profane" person we must think of this not as referring to immoral behavior, but his spiritual outlook. Spiritual things meant little or nothing to Esau. An emphasis is placed on the word "one." For "one morsel of meat" Esau sold the right to be his family's priest. God had promised that through Abraham and his descendents a Savior would be born to bless the whole world, but Esau cared only for the moment of his own fleshly need.

Although Esau afterwards regretted his foolish act, and sought its restoration sincerely with tears, "...he was rejected [and]...found no place of repentance." J. Vernon McGee profoundly said, "He did a great deal of boohooing. He was like a thief who began to weep when he was caught and to say he was sorry. But he wasn't sorry he was a thief; he was sorry that he'd been caught."3 There are times when it is too late to reclaim what we have given up too easily. The "repentance" desired in this passage does not refer to Esau, but of Isaac, Esau's father. Esau wanted his father to reverse his decision, but Isaac would not change his mind.

The point is when we make carnal decisions, generated by our indifference to spiritual values, there will be a price to pay in the end.

The Eradication of Bitterness

Charles Bracelen Flood's book, Lee: The Last Years, tells of a time after the Civil War when General Robert E. Lee visited a woman who showed him the remains of a grand old tree in front of her home. There she cried bitterly that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Union artillery fire. She waited for Lee to condemn the North or at least sympathize with her loss. Lee paused and then said, "Cut it down, my dear madam, and forget it."

When it comes to the root of bitterness we need to "cut it down" and move on. But how do we do it?

Let God Reveal It
Bitterness is a heart problem. "Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart." Jeremiah 4:18. Bitterness takes its residence in the deepest part of us - our hearts.

Some people respond, "But I know my heart. There's no bitterness in me." The truth of the matter is we don't know our hearts. God's Word tells us, "The heart if deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9. A deceitful heart cannot diagnose a deceitful heart. We all need to let God the Holy Spirit do radical, exploratory surgery.

While we do not know our own heart, we do know when bitterness is in our heart. "The heart knoweth his own bitterness;..." Proverbs 14:10.

R. T. Kendall is right when he says, "Although we often do not see it at first, all of our bitterness is ultimately traceable to a resentment of God."

Let Grace Remove It
A response of bitterness is never right when someone has done us wrong. We need to ask God to forgive us and He will, according to His grace. If someone has wronged you, cut down the root of bitterness and forget it. By the grace of God, bury that hurt in the grave of God's forgetfulness. Justice is God giving us what we deserve, mercy is God not giving us what we deserve, and grace is God giving us what we don't deserve.

Let Good Replace It
"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:" Hebrews 12:14. You cannot be holy unless you follow peace with men. It is so worth it when you forgive. But, you say, "Look what they did to me. I'm not going to let them off the hook." Well, they are not on the hook-you are! When you forgive, you set two people free and one of them is yourself.

You will discover that your life is more joyful when you uproot your bitterness. If God gave us justice, every person reading this would die and be burning in hell. Thank God for His mercy that removes His hand of punishment from us. Praise God for His grace that gives us a brand new life.