Reuben Morgan, Worship Pastor at Hillsong Church London, is warning Christians not to let their hearts be consumed by bitterness and instead "live free" from negativity.
"The growth of bitterness is easy to spot. The script goes like this: Life happens. People offend us. Things don't go to plan," he writes on the church's website. "So we start churning over the details. We talk about it. We lose sleep over it and we begin to grow so accustomed to living with it that we come to rely on it."
If people feed on their bitterness instead of try to resolve it, then their hearts will harden and they eventually stop letting anyone in, says Morgan. They become jaded and cynical, and sometimes even infect other people with their bitterness.
Morgan says bitter people feel validated if other people share their own resentment. Little by little, they watch their faith, their sense of identity, and their community become infected.
"I've seen this happen more times than I'd like to admit," says Morgan. "But it's not all I've seen. I've met a lot of influential people – people who lead others, who make change happen, who serve God no matter what. And I've seen how the script goes for them."
These people of God also get offended by others and their plans don't churn out accordingly. But instead of dwelling on bitterness, they deal with their issues.
"They refuse to allow bitterness to take root. They never allow the chip to form on their shoulder. They know their weaknesses and their vulnerabilities and they are extra vigilant when they know that they're approaching a potential problem," says Morgan. "They live free, and so can we."
