"The person who shuns the bitter moments of friends
will be an outsider at their celebrations."
Proverbs 14:10, The Message

'The heart knows its own bitterness, 
and no stranger can share its joy."
Proverbs 14:10, God's Word translation

"Verse 10 brings out the reality of the inaccessible character of the human heart. According to Scriptural usage, the heart is the center of man's inner life, the center of thought and motivation, and not merely emotion. Only God knows the heart thoroughly, but he does. We are required to operate on the basis of externals. This Proverbs is simply an observation about the nature of human privacy. Our experiences of bitterness, sorrow, or joy are our own, and in some fundamental ways cannot be shared."
Biblical commentary from www.leithart.com


I suppose I could continue cutting and pasting from other websites but I think most of you are just as interested in my opinion and thoughts on the verse above. 

The human heart is an amazing organ.  One of the pastors at my church spoke about the heart this past weekend and did an amazing job, but even he would probably admit that you just can't do it justice by explaining it in a 30 minute sermon.  The heart is both powerful and delicate ... it can withstand years of physical abuse but has a difficult time withstanding even a few seconds or minutes of emotional abuse.  But as the commentary above states, the heart is not just the emotional epicenter of man, it's the place where motivation and thought originate.

I believe I qualify to talk about heartache.  I think, without having to spend any time at all proving my case, that I can speak on the subject of a bruised, and even broken heart.  I'm sure you could too, and I want you to know that I respect that.  I respect what you've endured, and lived through.  I respect the fact that someone, at some time, has broken your heart and yet you decided to move on with your life.  I've been there too, more than I'd care to admit or remember.

It seems I spend a lot of time thinking about my heart.  I seem to wonder more often than not, why I think a certain way or act a certain way when I know I shouldn't.  It was nice to hear the sermon this weekend ... to hear my pastor say the same things ... to know I'm not alone.  Sometimes after these periods of self-examination I feel like there's no way God could love me.  How could he accept someone so prideful, or arrogant, or mean?  Sure, I do some nice things now and then too, but does that outweigh the bad?

Here's what I think I've learned: our good doesn't have to outweigh our bad.  God doesn't care how bad we were, or are, or will be.  I mean, He's not sitting up there with Jesus at His right hand smiling in approval when I cuss at the guy who cuts me off on the road.  I'm sure based on what I've read and studied that every sin, regardless of the size, breaks His heart ... especially when He sent Jesus to die on the cross for that sin. 

(I'm pausing to make sure that what I say next is accurate ... and doesn't cause anyone to fall ... God be with me).

The point I'm trying to make is this: we as a culture tend to take our approval seeking tendencies and apply them towards our relationship with God (just as we do our family and friends ... and strangers) when we don't really need to.  God knows our heart, and every motivation and emotion within it.  He accepts us anyway.  God knows the bitterness you feel ... and He's okay with it.  He knows that you've entrusted your heart to some people who have trampled on it like a door mat, and He wants you to know that He's different. 

He's not like them, and He loves you.  Amen, and have a blessed day.