A Tale Of Two Bitter Men

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Ephesians 4:3

General Charles Lee expected to be put in charge of the entire Colonial Army during the American Revolutionary War. Yet Congress chose General George Washington instead. General Lee was bitter over General Washington being put in charge of the army and ever afterward did all in his power to slander George Washington, denigrate him in front of the troops, ignore George Washington’s orders, and actively sought to bring about General Washington’s downfall. Lee constantly wrote letters to Congress detailing everything he thought General Washington did wrong. Eventually all the efforts of General Lee brought him nothing but a court martial and the end of his own military career. All his bitterness got him nowhere.

Benedict Arnold of the American Revolutionary War was a different situation. Arnold was an early hero of the Revolution and a great favorite of General Washington. Yet Arnold had enemies. He was not given credit by his superiors, especially at the Battle of Saratoga where he was shot in the leg and then had his horse fall upon the same leg forcing him from the battlefield for a time. Both the slights from Congress regarding promotion, and money owed to him, and his painful wound worked upon Arnold making him increasingly bitter. He himself was court martialed but acquitted from the accusation of misusing military funds. General Washington stood by Benedict Arnold but the damage was done. Arnold seethed with bitterness and he ended up as a traitor going to the British side of the War.

Bitterness is a deadly poison. It can take an otherwise excellent human being filled with promise and turn them into a villain. 

Hurt leads to bitterness, bitterness to anger, travel too far that road and the way is lost.

—Terry Brooks

Juxtapose those two men with Joseph from the Bible. Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. He was falsely accused of adultery by the wife of the master who bought him. Thrown into prison it seemed he could sink no lower. Incredibly, though he had excellent reasons for bitterness with everything he suffered, Joseph remained humble and avoided bitterness. God raised Joseph to become Pharaoh's right hand man in Egypt and ultimately Joseph was able to save his family members from a dangerous famine.

Life is short, and offenses will come our way as well as hardship and suffering of all kinds. Bitterness may seem a natural response, but the toxic nature of bitterness will poison anyone who holds it to their heart.

See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Hebrews 12:15

We can choose to be like Benedict Arnold and Charles Lee when we are offended, skipped over while others are chosen instead of us, disappointed in our hopes, or endure physical suffering and even slander. Or, we can be like Joseph. We can choose humility and leave the outcome in God’s capable hands. Our knee jerk reaction is to negatively respond to slights and criticism or to compare ourselves to others when things don’t go our way. Yet by submitting to God, letting go of our anger, and refusing to give room to bitterness in our heart, we can not only avoid bitterness, we can grow in our faith and trust in God as we place wrongs done to us into His care.

Prayer: Dear Lord, life gives us many challenges that offer opportunities to become bitter. Please help us to avoid that pitfall and trust any wrongs, suffering, or hardship that comes our way to You. For we know You care for us. Thank You for protecting, defending, and watching over us. And for giving us peace and grace instead of bitterness. Amen.