I don’t think you need any more information on what song I’m referring to, and I will not write any more of it; I don’t want it stuck in my head either.<\/p>\n
But, the intro was somewhat necessary, because another type of bus has been on my mind tonight. I don’t know how well known the name of this bus line is, it might be a regional name, but I’m sure every one will recognize the service it provides, even if you call it by some other name.<\/p>\n
This bus has one purpose, and one purpose only. Though we might get on it thinking that it will take us where we want to go, it always steers us in another direction. The name of that bus? The one and only, Bitter Bus.<\/p>\n
It is real easy to get a ticket, and the initial cost is pretty well free. But there is a recurring charge that we are not told about when we board. This charge is where we really pay. There are several line items in that charge;<\/p>\n
You get off the track God wants you on. Like I said, the Bitter Bus isn’t going your way, and I don’t see it following along with what God intends, either.<\/p>\n
You chase your friends and family away. It isn’t that you are leaving them. You might as well be yelling at them (are you?) to leave you alone. The Bitter Bus actually has\u00a0“Leave me alone,”\u00a0painted on the sides instead of the advertisments.<\/p>\n
Let’s see, what else? There’s the emotional toll. Bitterness causes stress, stress wears you out. In reality, the stress wears you out emotionally and physically.<\/p>\n
If you stay on the bus long enough, you will get a big dose of anger and sour attitude. These lead to other problems, and probably need their own rambling session.<\/p>\n
I’m sure that, given time, we could write so many more line items, but we need to keep going. If you are reading this while you are riding that bus, I’d rather help you understand what it will do, and show you the door that is kept hidden.<\/p>\n
Why do we get on the Bitter Bus anyway? From my point of view, we get on it because we are not happy with something, or someone, and we think that we can arrive at a better place on the bus. Maybe we’re tired of being nice, and want to be in a bad mood for a while. Maybe the bus brings out the inner jerk, and we like that side of ourselves.\u00a0Maybe… whatever. I don’t know that the reason we ride the bus is too important. Staying away from the bus stops would circumvent them anyway.<\/p>\n
Is there anything wrong with riding the bus. I cannot sit here and tell you in any certain terms that there is. But I think there are some things that must be taken into consideration if you plan on riding the Bitter Bus. I’m going to start with what I believe is the biggest one.<\/p>\n
In Matthew 5:21-26, Jesus is talking about murder. Now, the majority of us don’t commit murder in a way that is punishable by law. While that is a great accomplishment, Jesus defines murder differently. He says that murder is an angry thought toward another person. That is a deep cut. The main reason we get on the Bitter Bus is because we are aggravated at someone. That passage does not give us any slack.<\/p>\n
Ephesians 4:31-32 states it more plainly. Get rid of anger and bitterness. Then be kind and forgiving to each other.<\/p>\n
Then there are the verses that say bless those who persecute you (Romans 12:9-21. Specifically, verses 14, 17, 20, 21, but read the whole passage). Also, Jesus Himself says the same thing in Matthew 5:43-48.<\/p>\n
There are some others, as if what is above isn’t enough to make you think twice about the Bitter Bus. What about all the times that joy is mentioned in the Bible? Or when Jesus says “Blessed are the ones who get even, for they will be vindicated.” Wait, He didn’t say that? Oops.<\/p>\n
Of course you won’t find that, because why would He give us permission to be mean to others when He told us to forgive others. It would be nice if I could be a shining example to you on how to be nice to others when they are mean to me. Sadly, I too, wait on the corner for the bus. But is has lost its long term appeal. I get tired of snubbing other people. Not only that, I get tired of the way I feel doing it.<\/p>\n
There is something that I have noticed about people who get on the Bitter Bus. They are some of the worst people to be around. They are mean, you have to watch what you say and how you say it, and I would rather be in a room full of nipping dogs than walk by someone on the Bitter Bus.<\/p>\n
—-This next part is not going to be filtered through my “tact filter.”—–<\/p>\n
If you are on the Bitter Bus, get off of it. If you insist on riding the stupid thing, don’t try to drag me on it. I don’t want on the bus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n —-Back to being tactful—-<\/p>\n Having ridden on the bus, and lived off of it, being off the bus is so much better. If you are riding the bus, please get off now. The exit may not be easy to see at first, but when you start to look at others with love and forgiveness, the exit begins to glow. I cannot imagine ever finding out that Jesus supports the Bitter Bus.<\/p>\n One other key thing, that bus is fueled by bitterness and anger. If you let those go, the bus stops. Of course, that also explains why we are so mean to others while we ride the bus. We are trying to make it go farther. If you are not sure whether you are on the Bitter Bus or not, here is the best way I know of to tell. How are you treating others? If you are acting like a jerk, walking away from them when they try to spend time with you, or just talk to you, congratulations, you bought a ticket. Now get rid of it.<\/p>\n One word of caution: the tickets for the Bitter Bus never expire. They must be torn up. Which means, you have to go to the person you are trying to avoid, and talk to them. That is the only way to get rid of the tickets. I won’t lie to you, it’s hard, but God will help you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I don’t think you need any more information on what song I’m referring to, and I will not write any more of it; I don’t want it stuck in my head either. But, the intro was somewhat necessary, because another type of bus has been on my mind tonight. I don’t know how well known […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotional"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grfxbox.com\/thb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grfxbox.com\/thb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grfxbox.com\/thb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grfxbox.com\/thb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grfxbox.com\/thb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/grfxbox.com\/thb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":284,"href":"https:\/\/grfxbox.com\/thb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266\/revisions\/284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grfxbox.com\/thb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grfxbox.com\/thb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grfxbox.com\/thb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}