7月10日

標　　題：苦毒

經　　節：又要謹慎，恐怕有人失了神的恩；恐怕有毒根生出來擾亂你們，因此叫眾人沾染污穢。（希伯來書十二章15節）

苦毒以一種頑強的方式根植於我們靈魂的深處，拒絕被拔除。苦毒的發生有許多原因，它可能是你孩提時期所受到難以忘懷的傷害。時間不但沒有減輕疼痛，似乎把痛苦磨削地更尖銳。朋友或同事傷人的言語，也可能導致苦毒。傷你的人往往不知道你受傷的程度有多深。你可能發現，自己在腦海中不斷重覆被傷害的情景，每一次的回憶讓你的苦毒在靈魂植根更深。苦毒是由自覺不公平的對待而來。

苦毒很容易讓你自以為義。你可能懷有一顆苦毒的心而不以為意，但它終究會毀滅你。只有神完全知道苦毒的毀滅潛力。沒有任何事物會在你心中紮根太深，以至於神的恩典觸摸不到，沒辦法為你除去。你的生命中沒有任何地方會過於痛苦，以至於神的恩典沒辦法為你帶來完全的醫治。沒有任何攻擊對你是太可恨，以至於神的愛無法使你饒恕對方。

當你允許苦毒在你生命中成長，你便拒絕讓神的恩典釋放你得自由。如果你在神面前存誠實的心，你會承認自己的苦毒，並且求神饒恕你。苦毒會奴役你，但是神可以挪去你的苦毒，以祂的平安與喜樂來代替。

Bitterness

Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble. (Hebrews 12:15)

Bitterness has a tenacious way of taking root deep within the soul and resisting all efforts to weed it out. Bitterness occurs for many reasons. It might come from deep hurts you received as a child, hurts you cannot forget. Time, rather than diminishing the hurt, only seems to sharpen the pain. Bitterness can result from the hurtful words of a friend or coworker. Often the person who hurt you is unaware of the extent of your bitterness. You find yourself rehearsing the offense over and over again, each time driving the root of bitterness deeper within your soul. Bitterness can derive from a sense of being unjustly treated.

Bitterness is easy to justify. You can get so used to a bitter heart that you are even comfortable with it, but it will destroy you. Only God is fully aware of its destructive potential. There is nothing so deeply imbedded in your heart that God’s grace cannot reach down and remove it. No area in your life is so painful that God’s grace cannot bring total healing. No offense committed against you is so heinous that God’s love cannot enable you to forgive.

When you allow bitterness to grow in your life, you reject the grace of God that can free you. If you are honest before God, you will admit the bitterness and allow God to forgive you. Bitterness enslaves you, but God is prepared to remove your bitterness and replace it with His peace and joy.