Root of Bitterness
Christian, do you struggle with the sin of bitterness? That is not something we can take lightly. Let Hebrews 12:15 be a warning to us all:
“See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.”
John Piper describes bitterness as “the unresolved violation of justice lodged in the soul, unwilling to let go.”
Jerry Bridges calls it “harbored hurt that becomes smoldering resentment.”
In other words, bitterness is unresolved anger that has been stored up in the heart and left to harden. It is the settled condition of a soul that clings to resentment, replays wrongs, and refuses to forgive. This is not a flash of anger that comes and goes. Bitterness lingers.
It starts as something small: a hurt, a grudge, a disappointment, a jealousy. But if left alone, it doesn’t stay small. It digs in, it spreads, and it poisons. It begins to blame others, rather than your own sin as the source of the bitterness. And then it begins to defile many.
Bitterness is not only an emotional state. It is a spiritual one. It is when you begin to measure God and others by the wounds you carry, instead of by His grace.
The author of Hebrews reminds us: bitterness is not a surface problem. It’s a root problem. It buries itself deep in the unseen places of the heart. It’s like a weed snapped off at the stem that sprouts back in a few days because the real problem was hidden underground. And given time, just like a weed, bitterness will not stay buried. It always grows. Eventually that root bears fruit: anger, malice, division, even hatred.
Think of Cain, whose bitterness toward Abel grew until it bore the fruit of murder. Think of Jonah, whose resentment toward Nineveh made him angry even with God’s mercy. Or in Deuteronomy 29, the root of bitterness could lead people to completely walk away from the Lord. The fruit of bitterness is more destructive than we can possibly imagine.
And here’s what that means for us:
When someone is bitter, they cannot love biblically.
When someone is bitter, they cannot maintain godly relationships.
When someone is bitter, they cannot grow in maturity in Christ.
So, what do we do with this? Is the answer just to “stop being bitter”? No. Pulling up a weed without planting anything in its place guarantees it will return. That’s why the apostle Paul gives us not just a negative but a positive command. Ephesians 4:31–32 says:
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” But then here’s the positive command: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Do you see the pattern? The Christian life is not just about stopping sin but replacing it with righteousness. You put off, and you put on.
Put off bitterness, put on kindness.
Put off wrath, put on tenderheartedness.
Put off unforgiveness, put on forgiveness.
This is biblical transformation: the daily rhythm of dying to sin and living to righteousness, of mortifying the old and vivifying the new. Over and over.
So, let me ask: Is there a root of bitterness in your life right now? Has resentment settled in beneath the surface? Is it beginning to show in your words, in your attitudes, in your relationships? Don’t ignore it. Don’t justify it. Don’t just try to bury it deeper. Trust in Christ as your only hope in life and death. He will give you the strength to dig it out, and in its place, He plants the mercy and kindness of His own heart.