7月10日
标 题：苦毒
经 节：又要谨慎，恐怕有人失了神的恩；恐怕有毒根生出来扰乱你们，因此叫众人沾染污秽。（希伯来书十二章15节）
苦毒以一种顽强的方式根植于我们灵魂的深处，拒绝被拔除。苦毒的发生有许多原因，它可能是你孩提时期所受到难以忘怀的伤害。时间不但没有减轻疼痛，似乎把痛苦磨削地更尖锐。朋友或同事伤人的言语，也可能导致苦毒。伤你的人往往不知道你受伤的程度有多深。你可能发现，自己在脑海中不断重复被伤害的情景，每一次的回忆让你的苦毒在灵魂植根更深。苦毒是由自觉不公平的对待而来。
苦毒很容易让你自以为义。你可能怀有一颗苦毒的心而不以为意，但它终究会毁灭你。只有神完全知道苦毒的毁灭潜力。没有任何事物会在你心中扎根太深，以至于神的恩典触摸不到，没办法为你除去。你的生命中没有任何地方会过于痛苦，以至于神的恩典没办法为你带来完全的医治。没有任何攻击对你是太可恨，以至于神的爱无法使你饶恕对方。
当你允许苦毒在你生命中成长，你便拒绝让神的恩典释放你得自由。如果你在神面前存诚实的心，你会承认自己的苦毒，并且求神饶恕你。苦毒会奴役你，但是神可以挪去你的苦毒，以祂的平安与喜乐来代替。
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.
