Bitterness … a dangerous fruit.

(A lovely young lady at our Church named Haylie Still wrote this, and I knew I had to share it with you all. I pray it touches your heart like it did mine!)

In our own lives we experience disappointment, difficulties, heartbreaks, etc. If we aren’t careful these things can lead to a nasty thing called bitterness. Bitterness sneaks in like a parasite, and eventually will eat you away in every single aspect of your life.

Have you ever shopped for strawberries and as you were inspecting them you saw one strawberry with a bad spot? What do we do when that happens? We immediately set it down and go onto the next because more times than not, that one bitter strawberry will quickly turn the others bitter. Or we fear the bitter spot on the strawberry has already affected another strawberry- we just didn’t see it yet. Bitterness will eat you from the inside out, ruin relationships and hinder your walk with God. In my own life I have recently dealt with bitterness and thankfully, I recognized it and dealt with it before I let it take a hold of me.

Because we have an almighty Creator we are able to apply things to our own lives that we can learn from nature. It’s interesting that two things cause bitterness in fruit. Those two things are limonin from the limonoid terpine group, and naringin from the flavonoid phenolic group. I’ve realized that also, in my own life, bitterness comes from two things and those two things are sadness and anger. Sadness can come from jealousy, dissappintment, and miscommunication which can then lead to anger.

It is also important to know that the highest concentrations of the bitter compounds are generally found in immature fruits.

“Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.”

1 Corinthians 14:20

We have to remind ourselves daily that we have the power to build up or tear down with just something as little as our words. We have to be slow to wrath and have our mind prepared to respond to sadness and anger in the most Christ-like way.

So what kills bitterness in fruits?

Water

Drinking plenty of water can help keep bitterness away. It’s no coincidence that the Bible, The Word of God, is referred to as “Living Water”. God is so clever with how He made things of His creation to line up with our own spiritual relationship with him. While mainting a healthy water supply physically, we are able to keep a more pleasant taste. We can look at this in a more spiritual way and say that if we are constantly “drinking the water” by reading His Holy Word, then we will also achieve a more pleasant taste spiritually and emotionally.

Oral Care

Oral care is also very important when it comes to bitterness. Controlling our tongue can be extremely hard sometimes. Psalm 141:3 “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the doors of my lips.” This has to be a daily request and a cry out for help because alone we are incapable to do this very thing.

Sweetness and saltiness.

You immediately know when you bite into a bitter fruit. The texture, look, and especially taste immediately hit you. In order to have a sweet spirit we must constantly keep a soft heart and a Christ like attitude. As for salt, Christians are referred to as the salt of the earth! Matthew 5:13 “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” More times than not if my food isn’t salted, it’s not ready. If my food isn’t ready without salt, then why should my words be? It’s a daily battle to apply that same example to our speech. We tend to think our minds are ready before we open our hearts to listen to God. We must remember to “salt” our speech before it turns into bitter words. Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” If we let our speech flow before it’s seasoned with wisdom and grace, then most of the time it’s too late. That’s the thing about words- once they’re said, they’re out there never to return back to where they came from. Since bitterness exits out of the mouth, it is vital that we recognize the damage it can do. Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” Sure, sorry works most times. But you never un-hear the words that are thrown out at you or that you’ve thrown out. If we are truly Christians, this should be especially important to us and our testimonies. Proverbs 18:19 “A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.” If we offend another Christian it can lead to discouragement or sometimes even worse.

As Christians we are to be iron sharpening iron and helping one another.

If we offend someone who does not know Christ as their own personal Savior then we have made an even bigger problem. There is a quote that states, “In some cases you’re the only Bible someone will ever read.” That is such a powerful quote. If someone is constantly watching us claim Jesus, but we blow up on them with our words then maybe we have ruined any opportunity to share Christ with them again.

May we stay sweet by calling out to God for help because it is a task we cannot do alone. May we stay salty by praying and asking for wisdom and biting our tongue. Let’s also remember to drink plenty of water- spiritually speaking by reading God’s word.