Many people carry around in their hearts this type of Bitterness that is rotting the core of their soul. What's interesting is that a lot of people aren't even aware of the extent of bitterness that they are harboring. When anger and malice and bitterness go undetected in the spirit, it then begins to manifest in the body through various sicknesses and disease. None of this is the Will of God. We are at a point saints where we need to deal with the defilement of bitterness.
Hebrews chapter 12 says, "lest there be any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled." What does it mean to be defiled? It means to corrupt the purity or perfection thereof. When we allow bitterness and anger to take root in our souls, we corrupt our hearts and spirits, thereby making them unfit for the Habitation of the Lord. The Holy Spirit dwells within us because of the Grace of God and the Blood of Jesus Christ (Romans 8, Ephesians 2). But in terms of the abiding Presence of God indwelling the heart of the believer, this cannot happen if our hearts are defiled by Bitterness (2Corinthians 6and 7). So this is nothing to play with. Therefore, it is imperative that we address the issue of the defilement of bitterness.
How do you know if you have been or are being defiled by Bitterness? The main sign of the root of bitterness is a spirit of Unforgiveness. If you have somebody in your life that you're holding a grudge against, then you're being affected adversely by the Spirit of Bitterness. Some of us have been through all types of abuse and neglect and victimization. And you're Mad! And you have a right to be mad. But you can't afford to stay mad. That's why the scripture says to be angry and sin not (Ephesians 4). It doesn't say not to "get" mad or to be mad. There are some things in life that "ought" to arouse your anger. But the Bible instructs us not to stay mad. That's why that scripture goes on to admonish us to "let not the sun go down upon your wrath". There comes a point in time where we have to resolve the anger that we have towards those that have done us wrong or that we feel haven't treated us fairly. We must learn to forgive. If you're walking around with unforgiveness in your soul, you are allowing your heart to be defiled by bitterness.
We must also learn to forgive ourselves. We not only need to forgive others, we must also forgive ourselves. The truth of the matter is, you're not going to treat anybody else better than you treat yourself. Why? Because the reference for your treatment of others is the internalization of how you feel about yourself. Some may disagree with this; but I can assure you, if it "seems" like someone is treating someone better than they treat themselves, it's generic and superficial at best. Too many of us are still walking around beating ourselves up over something we did, in some cases, decades ago. Let it go. Why? Because the Blood of Jesus has washed away ALL OF OUR SINS (Revelation 1). As a child of God, you don't have the right not to forgive yourself. We have been Accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1). But understand saints, neither do you have the right, no matter how egregious the offense, not to forgive others.
Saints, if you know that you still have anger issues, or issues of unforgiveness that you're wrestling with. If there's still somebody that "makes you mad," then it's time to make peace with that bitterness. Get that resolved. If that means going to counseling, if that means sitting down with that individual or individuals, do it. Take the necessary steps to get that poison out of your spirit. We can't afford to go into this next season with unforgiveness in our hearts. We can't afford to be victims of the defilement of bitterness.
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