bitterness

[irishman]

Bitterness

I was, and perhaps am still, a bit bitter because of the attitudes of society toward returning Vietnam veterans. We came home to a hostile society; there was no fanfare, no rejoicing, no heroes welcome for us, just shame and degradation. This takes a toll on the veterans of the Vietnam and Korean wars. For all these years, I have lamented the fact that our veterans got a “raw deal” in the mistreatment they faced when returning home. Many of us did not see ourselves as heroes, by no means, but we thought that our service at least meant something to the American people, and were disappointed that we were not well received on the home front. If there was any place we should have been made welcome, it was home! All that is past—there is no way we can go back and change it now, nothing can be done to remedy the situation, but the bitterness still lingers, and there is a way to handle that.
Bitterness will eat at us, slowly gnawing at the inner man; it will eventually become a mountain that began as a mole hill, and chew the very core of our being. Sometimes it takes years, but with others it begins almost immediately after their discharge from the service of our country. We have seen the effects of it; society has suffered from the “post traumatic stress syndrome” that some have had to deal with; it has become OBvious that there were certain psychological prOBlems affecting the American veterans that returned from Vietnam in particular, and also Korea. The Bible warns us of allowing bitterness to take over our lives: “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;” (Hebrews 12:15) Bitterness will defile you; it will lead us down the path of destruction if we do not deal with it, and it will usually take others with it. Oh, vet, the answer to the prOBlem is Jesus. Only He can deliver us from the turmoil and frustration of “Post Traumatic Stress”, only He knows, and has the cure.
Yes, bitterness is a destroyer; it destroys happiness; it destroys our love for others; it destroys our rational thinking, and we become avengers against society; it eats away at the fiber of our being, and a cancer, and it always leads to depression and confusion. We must learn to give it to Jesus; let Him, who knows us through and through, perform the spiritual surgery that we need. Our only hope is Jesus. Won’t you invite Him into your life today? The Bible tells us: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9,10), and further: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Why not allow that “whosoever” to be YOU, and ask the Lord to save you? God tells us, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not”. Friend, God promises to answer if we will call unto Him; it doesn’t matter who you are, or where your from; your past has no bearing on what God will do now in your life; we are without excuse.

[JerryNumbers]

Your so right, Vietnam vets were treated so bad. Some of them were greeted, but yet with the type of greeting they received, it would have been better to not have gotten no greetings.

I know of a man. he carries a small note book in his shirt pocket along with an ink pen all the time. Within this small note book he keeps a written record of everyone who has done him wrong. So every time he thinks he is done wrong, he writes it down. In moments of leisure he will take his note book out and review all who had done him wrong. He does this because he wants to be sure he never forgets a wrong done against him and the person who did it. Them when the opportunity presents its self, he gets even, even if its been 20 to 30 years ago. I might add, he does not believe in getting even, he makes sure they receive back 100 fold I return for what they did to him. After this he marks them off in his little note book.

I might add, he is on his 3rd note book, but don't fear, the 2 that are kept at home, he goes thru them from time to time to be sure he never forgets a wrong. He seems like a very unhappy man, I believe he is the spitting image of what bitterness will do to a man.

I'm so thankful that God has given us a very good way to deal with bitterness, for its true, bitterness will eat a man alive.

PS. I'm glad todays veterans do not have to deal with the same type of welcome those of the Vietnam Days did.

[John81]

I was still a child when the Vietnam War ended but I can still recall how upset my parents were at the horrible treatment of the returning Vets. My parents comments and attitudes towards the hippy culture (they were against) and the treatment of Vets still impacts me to this day.

There are bitter pills we must all swallow but as the Word says, we must forgive even as we have been forgiven. In my own life I often refer back to what Paul said about forgetting what is behind and pressing on to that high calling in Christ.

[irishman]

I was still a child when the Vietnam War ended but I can still recall how upset my parents were at the horrible treatment of the returning Vets. My parents comments and attitudes towards the hippy culture (they were against) and the treatment of Vets still impacts me to this day.

There are bitter pills we must all swallow but as the Word says, we must forgive even as we have been forgiven. In my own life I often refer back to what Paul said about forgetting what is behind and pressing on to that high calling in Christ.

John81 thanks for the reply. i think I have forgiven, but I have to try not to think about it too much. it's all in the past now (40 years or so) but it still irks some of us. But the Lord gives grace to see us through. Edited May 13, 2010 by irishman

[John81]

A family friend who lived next door to my parents for many years was a Vietnam vet. This man lost both his legs in that war due to "friendly fire". Not only did he suffer that, he also suffered people spitting at him when he returned to the states and calling him a baby killer and such. This man also suffered with years of prOBlems with the Verterans Administration and Vertans hospital.

Not directly related to the war but this man also suffered from the injustice of being forced to pay child support for a child that wasn't even his. A woman he knew had a baby while he was in Vietnam and she had his name put down as the father. As it turns out there was no way he could have been the father since he was already in Vietnam at the time she would have conceived. That didn't matter to the judge. The judge ruled that since the mother listed him on the birth certificate as the father that meant he was legally OBligated to pay child support. So for 18 years he faithfully paid child support for a child that wasn't his. The woman/mother, of course, was never kind to him but there was a good ending. When that boy turned 18 he came to the Vietnam vet and thanked him for sending that money all those years and apologized for his mother's wicked behavior and treatment of him.

In any event, the Vietnam War, the way it was carried out, the way this country was run at that time and the treatment our Vets received were all horrible. Thankfully, it seems many have learned something from that at least to the extent that vets have been better treated upon returning home since that time.

[irishman]

Your so right, Vietnam vets were treated so bad. Some of them were greeted, but yet with the type of greeting they received, it would have been better to not have gotten no greetings.

I know of a man. he carries a small note book in his shirt pocket along with an ink pen all the time. Within this small note book he keeps a written record of everyone who has done him wrong. So every time he thinks he is done wrong, he writes it down. In moments of leisure he will take his note book out and review all who had done him wrong. He does this because he wants to be sure he never forgets a wrong done against him and the person who did it. Them when the opportunity presents its self, he gets even, even if its been 20 to 30 years ago. I might add, he does not believe in getting even, he makes sure they receive back 100 fold I return for what they did to him. After this he marks them off in his little note book.

I might add, he is on his 3rd note book, but don't fear, the 2 that are kept at home, he goes thru them from time to time to be sure he never forgets a wrong. He seems like a very unhappy man, I believe he is the spitting image of what bitterness will do to a man.

I'm so thankful that God has given us a very good way to deal with bitterness, for its true, bitterness will eat a man alive.

PS. I'm glad todays veterans do not have to deal with the same type of welcome those of the Vietnam Days did.

hey, that sounds like a good idea! I used to carry a pocket notebook and pen too, but for different reason. thanks for the post.