Putting Away All Bitterness and Anger

This most recent Sunday morning my family stayed home from church. We also stayed home from church the Sunday before that.

Before you go wondering, let me assure you our reasons for staying home were not anger and bitterness.

The sky is blue, the grass is green, and Lauren is pregnant. And with pregnancy at this stage also comes nausea and fatigue. So we felt it best to stay home and help her (and the rest of us) rest from the previous week, and rest up for the week ahead.

But a friend of mine who listens regularly to this podcast reached out to me to express concern with the bitterness I harbor for previous bad experiences with church. And I want to take his concerns and feedback seriously. 

And so, in the spirit of thinking through how I’m doing on this front, let’s take a look at Ephesians 4:17-32, which concludes with this convicting verse:

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

The simple truth is that bitterness and anger at having been wronged are both easy and understandable. But they are also not what the Lord calls us to or wants for us. And when we harbor these things and cling to them stubbornly, we find ourselves less productive, and less capable of honoring God with our lives.

If you too like me have been hurt and betrayed, and have had bad experiences in church, listen in. And God willing we will all come away with a recalibrated understanding and sentiment on this thing and others related.

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