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. ¹⁷ For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

Pursuing peace (vs. 14) means avoiding bitterness. It has been said that bitterness, like a cancer of the soul, eats away at the bitter person, destroying him and often the people around him. To the casual outside observer it grows initially unseen like a root below the surface. It festers sometimes for a long time, and then breaks into the light, bearing its ugly fruit and infecting others. What begins with a person’s unwillingness or inability to let go of an offense, soon infects others like a contagion. This does not help in the pursuit of peace!

The word “bitterness” in ancient Greek originally referred to something pointed or penetrating. It came to be used of that which provokes with unpleasantness or pain. We can easily see how bitterness eventually becomes a self-inflicted provocation, a continual penetrating of one’s own self with pain and unpleasantness. Such an activity has no internal restraints and begins to fester. When one cannot outwardly take revenge or retaliation against harm done, then the sword of anger that will not abate, turns on its nearest victim—the person offended, that is, himself. The great irony is that all the while, the bitter person feels he is doing harm to the offender!

The phrase, “by it many be defiled” can mean that bitterness grips not just a few Christians. But it can also mean that one person’s bitterness can leave a wide path of destruction. How many relationships are destroyed because of bitterness!

In the context of our chapter in Hebrews, bitterness represents a falling “short of the grace of God.” Similar to coming short of “entering God’s rest” (Heb 4:1). But, this is not a falling away from grace as Hebrews 6:6 speaks of, in the sense of hypothetical (and wrongly interpreted) loss of salvation. The passage is not written to “illegitimate sons” (vs. 8), but genuine children of God, believers who accept by faith the difficulties of life as the disciplines of a loving, heavenly father. The example of bitter Esau and his rejection from the inheritance should be sufficient deterrent for believers to let go of all bitterness.

Lord, with so much conflict around, please help me guard my heart against the root of bitterness that easily takes root. I confess it and reject it, by Your grace.