The word bitter has so many meanings and even more potential to harm. There’s nothing like carrying the sting and stench of hurt, disappointment, rejection or pain that allows it to turn into bitterness and allows that bitterness to turn you (and those around) you into a person (or people) you never saw coming.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Bitter as: marked by intensity or severity: a : accompanied by severe pain or suffering

c : exhibiting intense animosity d (1) : harshly reproachful (2) : marked by cynicism and rancor

e : intensely unpleasant especially in coldness or rawness 3: expressive of severe pain, grief, or regret

Just typing those words made my fingers tingle as I reflected on, and thought about the potential for widespread damage being bitter can bring about. One secret about bitterness the devil doesn’t desire us to uncover is not only how it affects us, but how it can be strategically implanted and imbedded in our family and friends simply by their association with us. No matter what happens, no matter how it hurts and how long it takes to heal do not get bitter. Do not allow what you’ve gone through to define you, and potentially destroy those around you. Your bitterness can affect and infect people for generations to come. Don’t believe me? Look around to those you know who have been dealt difficult lots in life (as we all likely have), but have succumbed to the weight of it, becoming hardened, defensive, cynical, standoffish, judgemental, or angry, rather than going through the process of healing, rejuvenation and freedom. Take a look at them. Look again. Then take a look at those around them to see the effects-by-default which they’ve come to carry, possibly even mimicking some of those same actions and reactions. You ever wonder who some people end up the way they are? Ever look closely at those who reared them or invested in them and quickly found the answer?

If nothing more than to spare your loved ones of the pain you’ve endured, especially when it comes to not passing your pain on to your children, allow the Lord to free you completely of any bitterness and any thing it might have brought along with it. Do it for you. Do it for the ones you love. Now’s a good time to tell bitterness “bye bye”! Your bloodline will thank you.

@AngelaMMoore316