Proverbs 14:10 The heart knows his own bitterness; and a stranger does not intermeddle with his joy.
‘The heart knows his own bitterness; and a stranger does not intermeddle with his joy.’ The heart knows its own bitterness, and let no man hinder its joy.
From Genesis 37:11we see bitterness in the form of envy where Joseph’s brothers reacted towards his dreams and this envy was added to their hatred. Envy is a selfish grudging of what another enjoys (Job 5:2; Pro. 14:30; Rom. 1:29; 1Tim. 6:4; Tit. 3:3). It is associated with bitterness, strife, murder and other sins (Eccl. 9:6; Rom. 1:29; 13:13; 1Cor. 3:3; 2Cor. 12:20; Gal. 5:19-21; 1Tim. 6:4; Tit. 3:3; Jas. 3:14-16; 4:5). Joseph’s dreams incited envy in his brothers but deep thought in Jacob who took them as divine indication of events that would affect his family. They also helped prepare Joseph for his coming sufferings in Egypt (Gen. 42:8-9; 45:4-8; 50:15-21). Ephesians 4:31 warns us to put away bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, evil speaking, and malice, for these are the things that grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30). Nehemiah 8:10 reminds us that the joy of the LORD is our strength, we thus cannot allow bitterness to steal His joy from our hearts.
Living the Word 