A Brick in the Valley

And, yet there are so many bitter people.  In fact, one of the reasons we agree that bitterness is bad is because we witness what it does to people.  We all know ogres who yell at children who cut through their yard, kick dogs, and talk with red faces and raised voices at church business meetings about insignificant issues.  They are cynical at work and unappreciative of how they have been blessed and they resent the successes of others.

The Wicked Witch of the West, for instance, was bitter.  Anybody that would try and euthanize Toto has issues.

But, before we begin to feel too self-righteous because we do not kick dogs or light scarecrows on fire, we need to remember that even a little bitterness is bad.  Proverbs tells us not to fret or burn up emotionally, that is be bitter, and we have all fretted about some injustice however trivial it might have been.[1]  And, that is how bitterness begins, in small ways.  No one climbs on a broomstick the first day and hires a bunch of flying monkeys right out of the chute.  Bitterness begins with a little pouting. 

[1] Proverbs 24:19-20.

A couple of questions: