Our neighbour (speaking a little too quickly in Hungarian) told me that there was a problem. I didn’t know what to expect so I went over to our usual spot at the fence to chat with her and find out. She pointed to our large chestnut tree and told me it had to go. At first, I cringed and thought it had created too much work for them last autumn with the leaves that blew onto their side of the garden. That wasn’t the problem though.
The problem was with our garden wall. At the halfway point a crack had appeared and one-half leant towards the road. The roots of the chestnut tree had undermined the integrity of the wall. None of us had noticed, it had happened slowly over time. Roots are like that. They grow silently and invisibly.
Bitterness grows slowly and silently. Often invisible to the human eye. Click To Tweet
It can be like that in marriage too. Something can happen, even something relatively small, which causes anger or resentment. The unforgiveness grows quietly and takes root.
Unforgiveness grows quietly and takes root Click To Tweet
The root is like a poison in the relationship and bitterness undermines the relationship and it can lead to a breach in the wall of your relationship.
Hebrews 12:14-15 (NIV)
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Don't allow bitterness to undermine your relationship. Root it out! Click To Tweet
The book of Hebrews warns us about the destruction that a root of bitterness can bring. It causes trouble and it impacts many people not just you.
We had to cut down the tree but that wasn’t enough. When it was chopped down the roots needed to be dug out. We were shocked at the size and the depth of them. When all of that was done a new foundation was laid for the wall, only then could it be rebuilt. Choose to forgive your spouse today. Take that first step and don’t let a root of bitterness destroy something that could be beautiful!
