Nut Grass

    There seems to be a lot of bitterness in our culture today.  I know a lot of bitter people.  They have lost jobs, spouses, bank accounts, friends, children, houses, etc.  Disease and sickness have taken loved ones to early.  The bank forecloses on a home.  The company lays you off to save money.  Our bitterness laser beams on one or two people and all we think about is getting even.  Of course, that never works.  When you are bitter toward someone, you are bitter at God.  The Bible calls bitterness "a root that springs up" in our lives.  Have you ever tried to pull up the root of nut grass?  It's almost impossible because the root spreads parallel to the ground causing nut grass to grow rapidly.  When I see nutgrass in the yard, I think of bitterness.  

    To many people are living lives as nut grass, spreading your evil roots to anyone who is around you.  Bitter people cause bitter people.  I believe that bitterness is passed from one generation to another.  You're bitter because of something that happened hundreds of years ago.  Red Sox baseball fans are still bitter that the Sox traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees at the turn of the century.

    I've had to deal with bitterness in my own life.  Most people have.  So what do we do about it?  Pull the root of bitterness from your life.   Every time it springs up, pull the root.  Like nut grass, you have to pull it up several times before it is eradicated.  We can pull up bitterness with forgiveness, tenderness and humbleness.  It's hard to be bitter and humble at the same time.  Bitterness is usually grounded in pride.  Pride and humbleness cannot reside in the same yard.  Neither can forgiveness and tenderness.

    Let it go.  Put it behind you.  Follow after Jesus and yo u don't have time to be bitter.  Let's pull the nut grass that dominates our lives so that the Holy Spirit can work to fertilize and strengthen us through the righteousness of Christ.  Epecially during the Christmas season.  

    Merry Christmas from our family to yours!