After yesterday's post, I thought it might be helpful to provide some practical questions to assess your heart for bitterness. They are hard ones, at least for me. I don't always like to ask them of myself, but they almost always produce fruit and conviction, which is necessary for change. Here they are:
If the person you are offended by, struggling with, or angry towards received a good thing (whatever it might be), would you be happy for them or mad that it happened to them?
Better yet, if they did not receive a good thing, or something unfortunate happened to them, would you be happy that it happened or would you feel compassion towards them?
Ouch. As hard as it might be to ask yourself those questions, they reveal things don't they? If they don't right now, you probably can remember moments you have felt this way, right?
Thankfully, like we talked about yesterday, our basis for fighting bitterness is the same hope that ensures our bitter thoughts no longer condemn us. Confess your sin of bitterness to the Lord, and he will forgive you. Praise God for forgiveness!
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