Bitter Root Judgements

We all make assessments and judgements about the situations we are in and about the people who influence them. Those judgements are used to predict the outcome of similar situations, so we can act wisely in those circumstances. That kind of judgement is necessary for our own survival, but there is another kind of judgement that is highly destructive, and that is one that comes from a root of bitterness towards someone.

So, how do we distinguish between the two? What is the mark of a bitter root judgement?

Let’s say we have a spouse who has the habit of eating far too much when food is presented in large quantities, for example at parties, and that person is consequently significantly overweight. You could say to yourself, this person is a fat pig: oink, oink. Or you could say, that this person has a food addiction problem which needs to be overcome. The former statement is a judgement which stems from the resentment of the person’s embarrassing eating habits and rotund state. It labels the person themselves rather than what they do. It adopts a negative condemning attitude towards them. It is this that characterises the bitter root judgement. When spoken out loud in front of the person it becomes a word curse.

In actual fact, this kind of judgement is an ungodly belief targeted at someone else. Often it stems from some way they have hurt us as well. In countering it, we need to recognise what they done against and forgive them for it. Then we need to renounce the ungodly belief and replace it with a godly belief.