Heb 12:14-15 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: (15) Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Son 2:15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
It has come to my mind lately how easily offense can enter into our hearts and steal from us all that we hold so dear in the Lord. We so often focus our attentions on the things that we can readily recognize as "sins". We are quick to recognize in ourselves anger, malice, sexual impurity, jealousy and the like. But bitterness? It enters so subtly and grows so insidiously.
There are those who legitimately wrong me or someone I care a great deal for.
"It is not right what they did."
That is a true statement, and as we dwell on it a root of bitterness begins to take hold. Soon we are upset at everything and become more vocal about what we perceive to be wrong with others. Soon we are a bitter person and the little fox of offense has stolen the fruit from our life. We hardly notice the lack of the power of the Holy Spirit in our life for the blinding fog of bitterness in which we walk. And the effect on others...we defile many!
We must allow God to reveal this fox in our lives, repent of allowing it entry and trust God as we repent to heal the hurts and purge our hearts from bitterness.