By John Buttrey
II
ne
of my least favorite jobs in the gardening at our house, is trimming our
bougainvillea. Despite all the
care I take (heavy gloves, sharp clippers, attentiveness) I always seem to get
scratched, cut, and caught (ouch!). That
monster grows faster than Jack’s
magic beans! Just about the time
I think I have it under control, it’s back!
Stronger and sharper than ever… its pointy thorns attacking the
fence… the backdoor… and me!
But,
as you could probably tell from the title of this article, it is not the
thorns of the bougainvillea I want to discuss, the rather… the thorns of
bitterness. Bitterness can
produce some very sharp and prickly thorns.
Thorns that can injure not only the one who is bitter, but also many
others. Just as that stubborn
bougainvillea in my backyard can quickly grow out of control, so it is with
bitterness. If not uprooted from
the heart… bitterness can grow very fast and very strong; scratching and
cutting everyone it comes in contact with.
It
is interesting that the Greek word for bitterness (pikria)
comes from a word (pikros) which
literally means… sharp. Kittle
writes of the word:
“pikros” originally
means “pointed,” “sharp” (e.g., arrows), then “penetrating” (e.g.,
a smell), then “painful” (to the feelings), and “bitter” (to the
taste).
Isn’t
that descriptive? Bitterness
itself speaks of something sharp and pointed… something painful and
penetrating… just like a thorn.
As Christians, bitterness should not be a part of our hearts; yet,
oftentimes (sadly) it exists deep within.
At times, it can exist in the heart for years; an inward sharp and
penetrating pain we feel toward another from the thorns of bitterness.
May I ask? Is that any way
to live? Just as I despise that
out of control bougainvillea in my backyard, let us all strive to rid our
hearts of bitterness and its dangerous thorns.
The apostle Paul gave us these words of advice:
Let
all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from
you, along with all malice. Be
kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in
Christ also has forgiven you.
Ephesians
4:31-32
By
the way folks, that is not a suggestion from Paul’s divinely inspired pen… it is a command!
Paul says (God says), “Get rid of bitterness.”
Let’s put on the heavy gloves and very attentively do some weeding of
the heart! And, if you have some
extra time, you’re welcome to come over and do some work on my
bougainvillea. It might prove a
real (sharp) object lesson. What
do you think?
Kittel,
Gerhard, and Friedrich, Gerhard, Editors, The
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume,
(Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company) 1985.
