The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory [is] to overlook a transgression. (Proverbs 19:11 NKJV)
“DEALING WITH BITTERNESS”
As you can tell, this weeks devotions seem to be focused on forgiveness, and offense. These are very important subjects affecting American Christians. In fact, I am reading a book I recommend Bitterness: The Root That Pollutes by Lou Priolo; in which I have taken some of the principles discussed from this book and weighed them against scripture for these devotions. The next subject is bitterness, one I struggle with.
My bitterness is not external, but internal. I tend to get mad silently at others, and I develop a bitterness which feeds my hypocrisy at times. I have to be real to you about my sin; to repent and to help us all get through bitterness. I have found that I become bitter over issues and things that are not really sinful; things that are not big at all. Many times I am misinterpreting what a person is truly saying, and apply accusations to them that are really not true. One friend of mine said something like “letting the sweet Holy Spirit rule my heart!” So true!
In this proverb above gives the key in dealing with bitterness: overlooking a transgression. Abar is the Hebrew transliteration which means to pass over. In the context of this Proverb, the Christian is to pass by sin or in other words forgive transgression. The Lord does this Himself as well (Micah 7:18).
Seeking to deal with my bitterness is going to cause me to examine first if I am being transgressed against. Then if so, cover it with love and forgiveness. If they are not sinning against me, let it go and overlook it. If I cannot, then I should go to my friend and address the issue; even if they did not sin against me. These things will lead you away from planting seeds of bitterness. Don’t cultivate the bitterness in your heart; deal with it biblical by overlooking transgression.
Some Scriptures references: Psalm 130:3-4, Proverbs 14:10; 15:18, Ephesians 4:31, Colossians 3:12-13, Hebrews 12:14-15, James 1:19-20
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