By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo
Hebrews 12:15 “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.”_ – NIV There are many people living with bottled up anger, unforgiveness, depression, feelings of injustice, rejection, and all related evils as a result of the circumstances they went through in life. They may ignore, or assume to have outgrown it, only to erupt at the slightest provocation along the way in life. The scripture above points to bitterness being a cause for trouble and defiling many. It can lead to ungodly behaviours and falling from grace. As previously noted, the disappointments and hurts of life are bound to come. As long as we are with people in this broken and fallen world, we shall always likely be hurt, consciously or not. Jesus said things that cause offence will always come (Luke 17:1-4). The hurts and disappointments, if not properly dealt with, create deep wounds/offences in the heart and soul. People may appear happy externally, and yet hurting deeply within. Such inner wounds are even more dangerous than physical wounds. They eat up the person from within.Additional signs of these wounds include aggression, outbursts of anger, irritability, hardened hearts, resignation and withdrawals, vengeance, depression, mental challenges, antisocial behaviours, lack of peace, and tendency towards violence. We usually assess people according such outward behaviours, but don’t ask why they do what they do. We would do well to find out as much as possible the hidden wounds in them and seek to help. _Colossians 3:8 “But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.”_Shalom children of God.