Rooted in Self-Righteousness

Content library Rooted in Self-Righteousness
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Southeast Christian Church

Jun 1, 2022

Most of us have been hurt by someone in our past, and as much as you’ve possibly tried to leave that hurt in the past, it remains present. It might seem like it's even grown bigger in your life and it begins to affect others relationships that you don't intend for it to. In fact, the more you pretend like it isn't a thing, the bigger thing it becomes. This is how bitterness works. If left unchecked, it begins to take root and take hold. Bitterness can grow little by little, until it becomes anger that dominates your soul. Maybe your anger is towards God instead of another person, because you prayed for something to happen that didn’t come to pass like you wanted. It can become easy to feel entitled to the bitterness that you're going through, and that was probably true for Jonah as well.

Jonah probably could have justified the bitterness. There may have been some violence committed upon his family, or he would have known similar stories from neighboring families by those in Nineveh. And some of you feel the way that Jonah did; that you deserve to be bitter for the rest of your life. Bitterness can be described as lighting yourself on fire hoping the smoke will bother the other person. It just doesn't work, and if left unhindered, it begins to take over everything. When we are bitter, it makes it really hard to go in the direction that God's calling us. So, Jonah stands at this port of Joppa, and he knows what God wants him to do, but he's blinded by his bitterness.

DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTION: Think of a time where you have felt entitled to your bitterness. Who were you bitter at? Why did you feel entitled to it? Where did this bitterness lead you?

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