I read a lot of articles on relationships and the single
life. I like to read different points of
view and hear many opinions. I also love
to talk to people about the single life.
It's always great to be able to relate to others in life stages and talk
about their different experiences, even if it's just to get a different perspective. One thing I have learned in a lot of
conversations and articles, there are a lot of bitter people out there.
Men are bitter that women "only like bad
boys." Women are bitter that
"there are no more good guys left."
Chivalry is dead, there's no more singles my age left, men are jerks,
women are picky, and that one person did me wrong so now everyone is just like
them and will do the exact same thing... Lots and lots of bitterness.
Bitterness is a complicated thing. You don't think it's there, and then suddenly
someone brings up that person that did you wrong, or even talk about something
that kinda-sorta is the same experience that you went through (just like when
your friend brings up how she likes the pink purse in the window, which then of
course gets you thinking of the pink nail polish that your friend in ninth
grade wore when she stole your homecoming date). It never makes sense how it can pop up so
easily, but it always does. It's a trap
that we fall into, and the problem is, a lot of people are not fighting to get
out again.
Bitterness is easy.
It's more acceptable, I mean it makes sense to be frustrated with
situations and characteristics after bad endings to relationships or
experiences. It's easy to dwell on those
things, instead of the positive, because deal with something, which then helps us move-on, usually means we have to
be honest. It wasn't that the was a
total jerk, it was just that he wasn't into me.
It wasn't that all women don't like nice guys, it was the fact that that
one woman did like you, the nice guy in front of her. The truth is harder to handle and a bitter
pill is easier to swallow.
The Bible mentions bitterness in many ways, it mentions it
as people's reactions (yes, bitterness is not a new thing...) and it mentions
it as states of thinking that people are in.
Proverbs is always great for when it comes to straight to-the-point
truths, and Proverbs 14:10 is one of those truths, "The heart knows it's
own bitterness, and a stranger does not share it's joy."
We know why we are bitter, what we forget is what benefit it
brings to our life. Which is no benefit at
all. Bitterness will start eating at any
joy we do have, and then from there it will work it's way into any potential
joy we could have and it doesn't stop until there is nothing left. No need to fret though. There is a cure. A good antidote to the bitter pill is grace
and truth. No one is perfect, there are
nice guys out there, there are women that know what they want, and not everyone
on this earth is out to get you.
Prayer and God's word help with realizing these truths. After all God is the ultimate truth and He
shows us perfect grace. It also doesn't
hurt to have the kind of friends that you can really count on to love on you. You know those people in your life that love
you so much, they know the right time to give you a figurative (or maybe not)
swift kick in the you-know-what and tell you to cheer up, spit out the bitter
pill, and move on. There are too many experiences in life to be had to let bitterness take you down.
