Get Rid of that Anger and Enjoy Life!

Resentment soon runs into self-pity and we cry out, “Why did this happen to me?” It has been said that resentment is a brittleness in personality that will not bend to new demands. ... We can become hardened and calloused to the things which happen to us. But this method gives us no opportunity to be creative. ... Next time you are feeling sorry for yourself, ... just use it as an opportunity which God has given you for helping someone else.  -Merritt Faulkner, Lewiston Morning Tribune, Lewiston, Idaho, Oct. 15, 1956

Let's be honest. We all deal with people we do not like.

• We don't like people who make us feel inferior.
• We don't like people who think they are always right.
• We don't like people who find fault with everything, but have no constructive solutions for anything.
• We don't like people who pretend to be what they are not.
• We don't like people who view everything in life in terms of what it will mean to their own comfort, and success.

What we don't like about other people is the basis of conflict and resentment between neighbors, between employer and employee, between politician and constituent, and between have and have-nots.

In some countries, up to 75 % of the people are angry, or bitter about something. Imagine that! Seven to eight out of every ten people you encounter today will be angry about something, or with somebody.

The Bible talks about this “root of bitterness” that is a possibility in our lives. Notice: Hebrews 12:15 and Deuteronomy 29:18. These verses refer to that “root of bitterness." It is called a root because it begins hidden within the soil of your heart. From there, its roots will wrap themselves around your heart and mind, until they choke the life out of you emotionally and spiritually.

If allowed to grow unchecked, this “root of bitterness” (resentment/anger) will spring up into a plant that will cast a shadow over everything you are and do. A “root of bitterness” in your life will literally come to dominate your very existence.

You can’t see a root; it’s deep down under the ground. But you can be sure of this: A bitter root will produce bitter fruit. If we have bitterness on the inside, it’s going to affect every area of our lives.

We all have unfair and unjust things happen to us; that’s a part of life. When we are hurt, we can choose to hold on to that pain and become bitter, or we can choose to let it go and trust God to make it up to us.

If you want to enjoy life and live it to the fullest, …

• Be quick to forgive. 
• Learn to let go of the hurts and pains of the past. 
• Don’t let bitterness take root in your life. 
• For your emotional and spiritual health, you must let bitterness go. 
• It doesn't do any good to go around hating somebody.
• It doesn't make any sense to stay angry for what somebody’s done to you in the past. 
• You can’t do anything about the past, but you can do something about the future. 

Many people attempt to bury the hurt and pain deep in their hearts or in their subconscious minds. They harbor unforgiveness and resentment, and then they wonder why they can’t really live in victory, why they can’t get along with other people, why they can’t be happy. They don’t realize it, but it’s because their own hearts are poisoned. 

If we have bitterness/anger on the inside, it’s going to end up contaminating everything that comes out of us. It will contaminate our personalities and our attitudes, as well as how we treat other people.

You simply cannot get away from it. If you hold resentment (bitterness/anger) within you, it acts as a thief robbing you of your happiness. Don’t let the root of bitterness take hold in your life – deal with it!

Scripture: Mark 11:25; 1 Peter 5:10; James 5:16; Ephesians 4:31; Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10

Prayer:  Lord, where I have directed anger toward others in my life or held anger inside of me, I confess that as sin and ask You to forgive me and take all the anger away. Heal any wounds that I have inflicted, through my words and actions, in others and myself. Help me to speak sweet words and healing, for I know that pleases You. Where I have shown anger toward others I confess it to you as sin. Bring Your restoration to every situation where it is needed. Amen

Have a blessed day!

Trish