Bitter Roots

Heb 12:15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.
:16 that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.
You brought these to my attention Father yesterday.
The word bitterness in the bible means “extreme wickedness” according to Strong’s Greek Lexicon. Wow.
Also includes “a bitter root produces a bitter fruit”; bitter hatred.

I noticed, Lord, the Amplified and NIV use the word “harsh” in Col 3:19 for the word embittered. In Heb 12:15 You say “..in order that no root of resentment (rancor, bitterness or hatred) shoot forth…”
When a person is bitter- they become harsh as they may also have resentfulness, irritations, and rancor, which means a deep seated ill will. . That’s why the definition can mean “extreme wickedness”. You are speaking of some heavy stuff here, Father.

You begin Heb 12:15 with “See to it..be on the watch to look (after one another)” which means I am to be on guard, watchful.

“that no root of bitterness…” Roots.

Looking up roots at infoplease.com taught me about the definition of “root”.
Root-the descending axis of a plant. A root absorbs water, and dissolves minerals from the soil, it anchors the plant and often stores food. The tiny root hairs in some plants are less than 1/3 inch in length.
Yet, in some cases, because there are so many they are able to collect enormous amounts of water, and by the spiraling forward thrust of the root tips pressure of their expanding cells there is sufficient force to split solid rocks.
Root systems often far exceed in mass the aboveground portion of the plant, as an alfalfa plant root can reach 40 feet. The combined length of all the roots of a mature rye plant has been measured at 380 miles. These types of roots are important in preventing soil erosion.

Roots are good, but as with many things, they can be evil.

S0, Father, roots are there whether we know it or not. They are feeding and watering us with something. They are establishing us, anchoring us in something and they store up their kind of food to great depths within us. They can be massive, be strong, and have power within us. They are growing.

Back to Heb 12:15. “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God,…”
So grace, superabundant grace is provided here and also strongly implies that it will enable me to conquer and turn away from bitter feelings as well as help others to.

“that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble. ...”
Bitterness, You say Father, causes trouble. We don’t need to complicate our lives with trouble.
The Amplified Bible says “in order that no root of resentment (rancor, bitterness or hatred) shoot forth and cause trouble and bitter torment…”

Torment is a strong word. But this is truth telling us that bitterness is torment. And to think that torment would have roots in all parts of my soul; my heart, my mind, and my feelings, because of its far reaching roots, is something great to consider.

“and by it many be defiled.” Defile here means to pollute, contaminate someone.

Many? Our mates, children, our own dear precious family? Friends we love?
We would never purposely defile a loved one. Jesus makes it clear in the Gospels (Mt 15:18; Mrk 7:18, 23) that defilement comes from within. Yet roots of bitterness do defile, not just ourselves, but many.

You seem to speaking more to me about this...tomorrow then.