Bitterness Bubbling Over

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:26-32

Jake stomped into the kitchen. Slamming his backpack on the ground, he grumbled, “I have the worst science teacher ever!”

Mom dried her hands on a towel and turned to face him. “Calm down, Jake. What’s wrong with your science teacher? When I met Mr. Harnetty at the parent-teacher conference, he seemed very nice. But he mentioned you often have a bad attitude in class.”

“Mr. Harnetty is too hard! He assigned a project over the weekend. It’s so unfair!” Jake pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his backpack and shoved it toward Mom. “He said we’re supposed to make a volcano and write a lab report on it.”

Mom studied the instructions. “I think we have just enough time to make it before dinner.”

With a disgusted sigh, Jake got started. Skimming the instructions, he put air-dry clay around a water bottle to cement it in place. Then he added baking soda and red food dye to the water bottle.

“What’s the last step?” Mom asked.

“Adding a cup of vinegar.” While filling the cup, Jake muttered, “This is so lame.” He dumped the vinegar into the bottle and leaned back to watch the volcano. Without warning, the volcano erupted in a burst of red, coating Jake with slime.

Mom gasped. “What happened?”

Jake wiped goo from his eyes and looked at the instructions again. “Ugh! I forgot to punch holes in the water bottle!”

“Hmm,” Mom said as she sat down at the table. “You know, I think your attitude about Mr. Harnetty has been a lot like this volcano.”

“What do you mean?” Jake narrowed his eyes.

“You seem to be storing bitterness in your heart—bitterness that explodes and leaves a nasty mess everywhere. But Jesus fills our hearts with something different—He makes our hearts overflow with kindness and forgiveness, not bitterness.”

Jake studied the ground. “I guess I was bitter at Mr. Harnetty because he gives us so much work, but I should be kinder and more forgiving—especially since he’s just trying to help us learn.” He looked back up at Mom. “I’m going to email Mr. Harnetty an apology for having a bad attitude. Then I’m going to write a lab report about the best science project ever!”

-Olivia Summers

How About You?

Are you quick to hold a grudge and slow to forgive? Do you store up bitterness against others and let it smolder until it bursts out? The Bible tells us to forgive others the way Jesus forgives us. Instead of being bitter when you feel like you’ve been treated unfairly, give your burdens to Jesus. Then trust Him to fill your heart with His love.

Today’s Key Verse:
Hebrews 12:15 (NLT) Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.

Today’s Key Thought:

Let go of bitterness