Sweetness, sourness, saltiness, savoriness and bitterness are the five taste sensations that make our culinary world go around.  Each weigh in on our taste buds to make the difference between “mmmmm” and “ughhhh.”  When in balance, there is delight.  But if one is dominant, revulsion.  Too much sweetness is “sickly sweet.”  Too much saltiness, inedible.  Too much sour brings a tingle from head to toe.  While too much bitterness turns the stomach and the soul!

To be sure bitterness can have its benefits.  Bitter foods play an important role in our health.  Often, they support liver function and enhance bile flow which helps detoxify.   Bitter foods also stimulate the production of digestive enzymes and improve nutrient absorption.  And many bitter foods, such as “green leafys” are rich in anti-oxidents and phytochemicals which are anti-inflammatory.    From a culinary perspective, bitter spices balance sweetness and saltiness and can assist in tenderizing meats.

But bitterness in a person is quite another matter.  While a bitter person may be an agent of our sanctification, more often the bitter person only makes life miserable for everyone.  Themselves included.  Like Eeyore, a black rain cloud follows everywhere they go.  Their anger, resentment, and disappointment poison every spring in their life.  They refuse every attempt at consolation or comfort.  They are hardened in discontent.  Everyone is to blame.  Especially God.

The Bible warns us that a “root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.”  Such bitterness is the enemy of grace.  And we are warned against it by examples from scripture.  Like a grieving Jacob whose “sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted,” Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth, returned from Moab to Bethlehem a bitter and hardened woman. 

She had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and so she set out to return.  As she arrived, Bethlehem was buzzing over her return.  “Is this Naomi?” they cried.  But she snapped, “Do not call me Naomi (pleasant) but Mara (bitter), for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.”  Even Ruth’s moving expression of love and commitment did nothing to sweeten Naomi’s bitterness.   Her life was ruined and it was all God’s fault.

Yet even in the midst of her bitter complaint, her anger, her resentment, God is preparing to be gracious.  Are you bitter?  Are you inconsolable?  Are you resentful toward God for what he has done, allowed, decreed, chosen not to prevent or provide?  Has he disappointed you?  Seemed silent or absent?   Has this made you bitter?  Perhaps in your bitterness, God is preparing to be gracious.  Are you looking?  Are you praying? Expecting?   Don’t let your bitterness distort your view of God or rob you of hope. 

Join us as we examine Ruth 1:19-22 and consider the danger of bitterness on our relationships with others and with God.   We meet on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn at 10:30 am for worship.  Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join our livestream on YouTube.