Eaten Alive - Offence and Bitterness
August 13, 2022
August 13, 2022
An aspect of anger that some miss is offence. We do not correlate the two, yet the very definition of offence is annoyance or resentment brought about by a perceived insult to or disregard for oneself or one’s standards or principles. It is resentment which is an aspect of anger.
When we get offended by something or someone we tend to hold onto it. As it settles within us every time that topic or person comes up, this offence builds. After some time we have built it into a mountain and it has dramatically impacted our relationship with the person who offended us. If we leave this offence and don’t deal with it, it grows into more and eats away at us.
Bitterness comes from unresolved anger, resentment and offence in our lives. We tend to withdraw from people and are typically angry at the world at this stage. By the time our anger has grown into bitterness, it has eaten away our joy, and our peace, destroying relationships and leaving us alienated and alone. Loneliness tends to reinforce offences as we think they do not care about it enough to make things right, however, in most cases, those people have no idea they did something to offend us; we just slowly faded out of their lives.
Proverbs 18:19 An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city. Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars.
Proverbs 19:11 Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.
Quite the contrast between the offended and those who let things go. Do you want to become a fortified city, alienated from the rest of the world or respected by how you can let these things go? How do we let go, forgive! It is the only way to let go. Release yourself from the gates of your fortified city and come back to the rest of the world, we miss you!
Personal Note: It is not easy to forgive people, the best thing to remember is that there are still consequences for actions and forgiveness does not remove the consequence, it just sets you free of the anger, resentment, offence and bitterness. Do not let what one person has done to you destroy other relationships in your life, learn to forgive easily.
When we get offended by something or someone we tend to hold onto it. As it settles within us every time that topic or person comes up, this offence builds. After some time we have built it into a mountain and it has dramatically impacted our relationship with the person who offended us. If we leave this offence and don’t deal with it, it grows into more and eats away at us.
Bitterness comes from unresolved anger, resentment and offence in our lives. We tend to withdraw from people and are typically angry at the world at this stage. By the time our anger has grown into bitterness, it has eaten away our joy, and our peace, destroying relationships and leaving us alienated and alone. Loneliness tends to reinforce offences as we think they do not care about it enough to make things right, however, in most cases, those people have no idea they did something to offend us; we just slowly faded out of their lives.
Proverbs 18:19 An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city. Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars.
Proverbs 19:11 Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.
Quite the contrast between the offended and those who let things go. Do you want to become a fortified city, alienated from the rest of the world or respected by how you can let these things go? How do we let go, forgive! It is the only way to let go. Release yourself from the gates of your fortified city and come back to the rest of the world, we miss you!
Personal Note: It is not easy to forgive people, the best thing to remember is that there are still consequences for actions and forgiveness does not remove the consequence, it just sets you free of the anger, resentment, offence and bitterness. Do not let what one person has done to you destroy other relationships in your life, learn to forgive easily.
