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TechnoratiThe Reality of Conflict and the Root of Bitterness
Remember the story of Little Red Riding Hood? Upon arrival at grandmother's house, Miss Riding Hood encountered a big bad wolf disguised in grandmother's clothing! The wolf had one intention to deceive her, so he could eat her!
Now obviously there's a conflict of interests here. Miss Riding Hood wants to see Grandma, but the wolf wants to eat Miss Hood!
It seems that conflict is the theme of almost every book we read. Indeed, conflict is all around us. Almost every movie centers around some major human conflict otherwise we would find it pretty boring. The nightly news is basically a documentary on the human conflict of the day. It never seems to get old. And our everyday lives and relationships seem to bring continual opportunities for conflict. We often find ourselves on the receiving end of injury.
Though conflict is inevitable, the level of human misery is dramatically increased by our lack of forgiveness. Divorce, crime, resentment, war, racism, possibly even physical illness all seem to point to a root of bitterness.
Jesus Christ also told a story about some big bad wolves. In Matthew 7 He tells us that while some men will come to us in sheep's clothing, inwardly they are ravenous wolves!
Who was Jesus talking about? He was speaking of those who would deceive people into thinking that they can control their own lives. For example, the Pharisees of Jesus' day were teaching that (by becoming very religious) people could earn God's favor and thus control their own eternal destiny.
But there's one problem here. To actually have control over our lives, we'd have to control the entire universe! But it soon becomes obvious that we don't. Things often don't go our way. So what do we do when our expectation of heaven on earth is interrupted by broken relationships, abusive people, accidents, conflict?
This is where bitterness begins to grow and take root over time. We've come to expect the finest royal treatment from life, and so we often get let down. This is particularly true in America, where we have such grand illusions of the perfect life.
And so we get bitter. Bitterness has gripped America like a plague. It is usually expressed at those closest to us or those who have hurt us. But ultimately we are bitter toward God. He hasn't allowed things to work out the way we think they should have. One woman who had been sexually abused as a child said, "When God did not intervene to stop the abuser He lost any right to require me to do anything. He owes me, I owe him nothing."
The Bible warns us in Hebrews 12:15 to "See to it that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many."
Our Need for God's Forgiveness
Do we need to be forgiven by God? Many Americans don't seem to think so. More than ever, people in our society seem to be saying, "What has God got against me?" "What could I have done that is so inexcusable?" Most of us see little connection between the way we live our lives and the mess our society is now in. It's not our fault! In fact, it may well be God's fault. Sigmund Freud once wrote, "If I should ever meet God, He would have more to answer for than I would!"
One of the greatest obstacles of the church today is this very issue. Whereas at one time Americans generally thought of all persons as "sinners" in need of forgiveness, this can no longer be assumed. Maybe sin used to be a problem, but now we've outgrown that. So while the church has a solution for the problem of sin, it's a non-problem in the eyes of most Americans--at least not a serious problem.
As a result, Christ's death on the cross has become superfluous. Christ came to solve a problem that nobody has! This is sort of like having an auto mechanic out in the desert who only works on Hudsons and Edsels! He only fixes the cars that people used to drive. Or it's like giving a lawnmower to an Eskimo. You're giving him the solution to a problem that he doesn't have!
So why don't we see sin as a real problem? Romans 1 and 2 tell us that we are all excuse-makers. Romans 1 describes the situation of the "Gentiles" (those without moral upbringing): they are "honest" but still immoral. Romans 2 describes the Jews (those with a moral upbringing): they are "self-righteous" but dishonest about their heart condition. Romans 2:1 sums it up well: "You are without excuse whoever you are." And this is a hard pill for most Americans to swallow.
Today we see these excuses working in two ways. If I see my life as a mess, it's not my fault. I'm a victim. The other attitude is, "Hey, my life is pretty good; in fact it's going very well. I've got nothing to be ashamed of." Either way we excuse ourselves. Romans 7 gives us a response to an excuse-ridden society: the law. What does the law do? It serves to arouse our anger! That's because God's standards and demands for perfection are impartial to our personal circumstances, struggles, backgrounds, etc. The law is unrelenting and unmerciful to your particular situation.
The law arouses and exposes our anger and sin. So, with the law, we can begin to see for ourselves that we are sinners. Then we can agree with the Bible. The Bible tells us that we have all sinned and fallen far short of God's glorious plan for our lives. That original plan was to create people who would reflect His character on planet Earth. He would thus be the source for our very life and existence, while we would experience the joy of representing Him by living our lives as perfect reflections of His glory and honor.
But we have not done our part. As a result, we need forgiveness from God, forgiveness for trying to live independently of Him as our creator, forgiveness for trying to become self-sufficient, as only He is. And forgiveness for evil deeds we have committed while living independently from Him.
Next time we'll examine what God's forgiveness looks like, how it allows us to forgive others, and how to forgive ourselves!
Dr. Studebaker has worked in full-time professional ministry for 24 years. He is an experienced Bible teacher as well as a mentor for Christian leaders and laypersons, assisting them in discovering their personal life-calling and in taking practical steps toward fulfilling their calling.
