Frequently, a bitter person is hostile, caustic, critical, angry and fault-finding. Many times, when you pull the veil back, these people are a seething volcano of unresolved anger. In Hebrews 12:15, the Holy Spirit speaks of a “root of bitterness” which is often the cause of the greatest difficulty for men.
Bitterness has also been described as a mix of emotions including anger, sadness and disappointment that something did not turn out as expected.
Hebrews 12:15
If you have a bitter root, it affects others whether you see it or not. By removing that bitter root, you preserve peace and faith among your relatives, friends, coworkers, and others. It's worth the fight not only for you but for everyone else who is involved.
What does the Bible say about bitterness? Bitterness is defined as anger and disappointment at being treated unfairly. It is synonymous with resentment and envy. One of the most well-known stories of bitterness in the Bible is the archetypal tale of Cain and Abel.
Someone who is bitter is angry and unhappy because they cannot forget bad things that happened in the past: I feel very bitter about my childhood and all that I went through. She'd suffered terribly over the years but it hadn't made her bitter.
Respond rather than react
Try to avoid becoming angry or agitated during the interaction. Instead, try to respond with empathy and care. This will show the person that you hear what they're saying, understand their point of view, and reaffirm that their feelings are valid.
Therefore, the “root of bitterness” is a “collating concept,” brought on by Satan, for the purpose of “undermining the will of God” as it pertains to a Christian's life of “faith,” and their “pursuit of holiness.”
Bitterness is rooted in unfair, disappointing, or painful experiences that would make any human feel hurt, angry, or sad. While most people are able to feel those emotions and then leave them behind, those who become bitter hold on, refusing to forgive the offenses (real or imagined) and miring themselves in misery.
a feeling of anger and unhappiness: He was full of bitterness after he lost his job.
It will harden, break, and destroy the good in your life. Bitterness erodes optimism, shatters joy, and kills our ability to love others well. A bitter person goes through life with a heart that does not fully function. They live in a land of spiritual poverty while those around them drown.
The effect on serotonin levels generates an increase of anger, emotional pain, anxiety, and depression. The long-term effects of these triggers are known to many of us. Stress hormones increase our heart rate, blood pressure, arterial tension, blood glucose levels and thyroid function.
The “bitter root” in Hebrews 12:15 is first described in Deuteronomy 29:18: Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the LORD our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit.
The book of Hebrews warns us about allowing bitterness to take root: “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no 'root of bitterness' springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled” (Hebrews 12:15).
Eventually, things will get better after we've walked out forgiveness for a time. We'll even begin to learn that the experience that caused the bitterness and resentment can result in something more positive. I've experienced this in my own life.
5 In TCM, the liver is associated with anger, depression, and the below physical symptoms: Emotions: Anger, resentment, frustration, irritability, bitterness, and "flying off the handle"
A bitterness definition from psychology
It is an emotional state of feeling let down and unable to do anything about it. Embitterment is different than anger because although it involves the same outrage it also involves feeling helpless to change things.
Wrosch warns that, in this form, staying bitter is a health risk leading to “biological dysregulation” and physical disease. One expert has proposed that bitterness be recognized as a mental illness and categorized as post-traumatic embitterment disorder (PTED).
Bitterness and resentment relate to anger. When we let anger at others or frustration at our situation fester and build up in our hearts, we can begin to develop bitterness and resentment. Often bitterness takes root when we are hurt by others or we think a situation we are put in is unjust or unfair.
People become bitter and twisted for many different reasons. Generally, something has happened to them at some stage that they think was unfair - they have been cheated, diddled, passed over, slighted, ignored, left out or generally not been given what they think they deserved.
Ephesians 4:31 tells us: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” Like unforgiveness, I think getting rid of bitterness affects us the most.
The Bible says, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you…
Bitterness is a root that will grow into a tree that will cause trouble for you and will cause you to be defiled. Ultimately, bitterness will bring destruction to your own life – not to anyone else's. Bitterness is listed here with rage, anger, brawling, slander, and every form of malice. God tells us to get rid of it.
Bitterness is often accompanied by mild toxicity, but the toxicity of a compound can not be reliably deduced from its bitter taste. Numerous toxic compounds that are chemically dissimilar from known bitter molecules were predicted as bitter.