A Bitter Route

It was pure happenstance. There I was roaming down the aisle of a trendy natural food store, minding my own business, when a woman captured my attention while giving me this enthusiastic instruction “you have to buy this, it is great”. My husband standing nearby heartily agreed. I was hesitant and far from sold on the idea; you see this kind of thing has happened before without great success, but I filed it away in the “things to consider” portion of my intellect to be re-visited at a later time.

You can only imagine my surprise when low and behold the very next morning a facebook friend was making the very same pronouncement. Well this couldn’t be anything less then an invitation from God. Rather then ignoring what would seem like a divine decree, I set out to give it a whirl. I purchased my first box, ever, of Cream of Wheat. I know you must be wondering “you have never had Cream of Wheat”? Not that I can recall. But if I did, it certainly didn’t impress me quite the way it did this woman, my husband or facebook friend.

The next morning, I took out the box and read the directions twice (I wanted to make sure I would experience the fullness of what Cream of Wheat had to offer with out any of my customary cooking blunders) and I made the stuff. I sat down filled with anticipation and joy over the discovery of new things, lifted the spoon to my mouth, took that first savor and “Blah!!!!” Cream of Wheat is now at the top of my least favorite, never want to have again, food list. I don’t mind telling you in all my years of breakfasts, I glad I never wasted even a one (aside from this one) on Cream of Wheat. I was so disappointed, you see, I really wanted to like Cream of Wheat. The people who were touting its virtues must be superior cooks and theirs must have been better then mine. I must have prepared it wrong. After all it isn’t like I hadn’t done that kind of thing before. Let’s face it, mine must be worse. Cream of Wheat just didn’t live up to my perceived expectations. I was left bitterly disappointed.

Can you relate? Have you ever been so excited about something and left feeling bitterly disappointed? I am not just talking about breakfast cereals here. Anything in life left you feeling let down? Maybe it didn’t live up to your expectations or you thought that your situation was worse then the next guys. Has life seemed to be harder for you then most? Do you have that yucky Cream of Wheat taste in your mouth? I know a woman who felt this way.

“No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD’s hand has gone out against me!” Ruth 1:13c

Meet Naomi. Let me share a little of her back story. It happened in the days when the judges ruled and there was a famine in the land. Naomi resided in Bethlehem with her husband and two sons. Now because of the famine, Naomi, her husband and two sons decide to relocate to Moab apparently where there was provision. Biblically speaking, this action characterizes their choosing to do what they thought was best rather then trusting God.

While in Moab, Naomi’s husband dies and her two sons marry Moabite women. Also not a good thing. After they had lived there about ten years both her sons die as well. “When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughter-in-law prepared to return home from there.” (Ruth 1:6)

As they advance on their journey Naomi suddenly has second thoughts. She encourages her daughters-in-law to return for “it is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD’s hand has gone out against me!” (Ruth 1:13c) What is that Naomi? You left the land of God’s provision and protection and decided to go your own way and this is your response? What about these two daughters-in-law who lost their husbands and probably the possibility of ever having another husband and children in that culture. Why is it worse for you I ask? You walked away from God, what did they do other then marry you sons? Why is your loss so much greater? What did you expect to happen when you walk out from under the umbrella of God’s protection?

But Naomi comes to her senses and repents and returns to Bethlehem, only she is bitter. I believe that Naomi’s bitterness has two primary roots. First, she thought her situation was worse then her daughters-in-law. “It is more bitter for me than for you”. Have you ever felt that you had it so much harder then everyone else? Have you ever thought that God had forsaken you and that particular situation was so much more to handle then someone else’s? I bet if you had you can taste Naomi’s bitterness. When you start to think that everyone’s life is more blessed then yours watch out, because you are planting a seed of bitterness.

The second root of bitterness comes with her expectations not being realized. She lost her husband and both her sons. I am pretty sure that is not what she had envisioned for her future. Have you ever had a vision that fell flat? Have you ever expected a situation to go a certain way only to have it crash and burn? Have you ever thought that God was against you rather then for you? Beware bitterness is about to take root.

God never promises that everything will go the way that we had planned but He did promise that He would be with us in whatever we go through. Perhaps our theology has been misguided. Do you think because you are a Christian that nothing bad should ever happen to you? Be careful, Jesus warned us “in this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33b)and Paul confessed “we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Acts 14:22) Don’t allow the pressures and difficulties in this life to throw you into doubting God. No one is immune to them. While yours could very well be difficult, I challenge you to spend some time with someone who has it worse. I can assure you your perspective will change.

My Cream of Wheat experience didn’t pan out the way that I had hoped but maybe that came from setting some unrealistic expectations on the outcome. I was listening to those few who were Cream of Wheat fans rather then going with my own instincts. It wasn’t necessarily that my ineptitude in the kitchen was the cause of the unsuccessful interlude; it was probably just that I had expected my experience to parallel theirs. It resoundingly didn’t. Rather then hold it against them, I think I will avoid the bitterness trap, trust that I and cream of wheat are just not meant to be and let it go… how about you? Do you have some bitterness that you need to let go? Is it time for you to move on?

See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Hebrews 12:15