--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bitterness is like drinking poison and…" description: "\"“Bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”\" — Joanna Weaver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/joanna-weaver-30193_drinking-poison_bitterness-is-like-drinking-poison-and-w_1192278.jpg" --- # Bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the… ![“Bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” quote by Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/joanna-weaver-30193_drinking-poison_bitterness-is-like-drinking-poison-and-w_1192278.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/joanna-weaver-30193_drinking-poison_bitterness-is-like-drinking-poison-and-w_1192278.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/joanna-weaver-30193_drinking-poison_bitterness-is-like-drinking-poison-and-w_1192278.jpg) > ““Bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”” [Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Holding onto bitterness harms the holder more than the target. **In simple terms:** Bitterness is self‑destructive. Key Takeaway Release resentment to protect yourself. Themes emotions healing psychology Mood reflective calming Type psychological self‑help When to use this quote - conflict resolution - personal growth - therapy sessions Key Concepts toxic resentment self‑sabotage emotional health Questions to Reflect On - How does bitterness affect your wellbeing? - What steps can you take to let go? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex relational issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bitterness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/resentment-is-like-drinking-poison-and-waiting-for-the-other-person/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [Unforgiveness is like drinking poison yourself and waiting for the other person to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/unforgiveness-is-like-drinking-poison-yourself-and-waiting-for-the/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for it to kill your enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/resentment-is-like-drinking-poison-and-waiting-for-it-to-kill-your/) Senoraroy > [Holding a Grudge is Like Drinking Poison and Waiting For the Other Person to Die. . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-sutter/holding-a-grudge-is-like-drinking-poison-and-waiting-for-the-other/) [Rick Sutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-sutter/) > [Living life without forgiveness is like drinking poison, and waiting for the other person to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/living-life-without-forgiveness-is-like-drinking-poison-and-waiting/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Bitterness is like drinking rat poison and waiting for the rat to die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg-jr/bitterness-is-like-drinking-rat-poison-and-waiting-for-the-rat-to-die/) [John Ortberg Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg-jr/) > [“Having a resentment is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wunder/having-a-resentment-is-like-drinking-poison-and-expecting-someone/) [Wendy Wunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wunder/) > [“Withholding love is a bit like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-kelly/withholding-love-is-a-bit-like-drinking-poison-and-expecting-the/) [Matthew Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-kelly/) > [Sometime, holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/sometime-holding-on-to-anger-is-like-drinking-poison-and-expecting/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-stunt/unforgiveness-is-like-drinking-poison-and-hoping-the-other-person-dies/) Margaret Stunt > [“I hate the way bitterness is like a black, bubbling tar pit in me, and I hate the way so many memories of you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorna-landvik/i-hate-the-way-bitterness-is-like-a-black-bubbling-tar-pit-in-me-and/) [Lorna Landvik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorna-landvik/) > [“When I need it, I can call bitterness around me like mail armor, every thought a knot of steel, shielding the tenderness I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-fraser-king/when-i-need-it-i-can-call-bitterness-around-me-like-mail-armor-every/) Susan Fraser King > [If one can understand why people behave as they do then often the road to forgiveness is opened. Not only is forgiveness essential for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-waite/if-one-can-understand-why-people-behave-as-they-do-then-often-the/) [Terry Waite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-waite/) > [“If you’re not angry, you’re either a stone, or you’re too sick to be angry. You should be angry. You must not be bitter.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-you-re-not-angry-you-re-either-a-stone-or-you-re-too-sick-to-be/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More by Joanna Weaver > [“For even a little sin in our wellspring has the power to pollute and corrupt the very essence of who we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/for-even-a-little-sin-in-our-wellspring-has-the-power-to-pollute-and/) [Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) > [“We only trust people we know,' says Martha Tennison...'If you're struggling to trust God, it may be because you don't really know God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/we-only-trust-people-we-know-says-martha-tennison-if-you-re/) [Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) > [“FRETTING MAGNIFIES THE PROBLEM, BUT PRAYER MAGNIFIES GOD.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/fretting-magnifies-the-problem-but-prayer-magnifies-god/) [Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) > [“being teachable, in essence, involves three things: being willing to listen acting on what we hear responding to discipline”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/being-teachable-in-essence-involves-three-things-being-willing-to/) [Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) > [“All over the world, people go to unimaginable lengths to find God--which is sad when you consider the unimaginable lengths God has already gone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/all-over-the-world-people-go-to-unimaginable-lengths-to-find-god/) [Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) > [“missed that point for a long time. I had spent so much of my life concentrating on the “fruit” of my own personal holiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/missed-that-point-for-a-long-time-i-had-spent-so-much-of-my-life/) [Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) > [“I need to know," we tell ourselves. "No," God answers softly, "You need to trust.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/i-need-to-know-we-tell-ourselves-no-god-answers-softly-you-need-to/) [Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) > [“He's calling us to the Great Exchange--the one where we ccan never lose. As we trade the "many things" that make us anxious, He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/he-s-calling-us-to-the-great-exchange-the-one-where-we-ccan-never/) [Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) > [“Service without spirituality is exhausting and hopeless. But . . . spirituality without service is barren and selfish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/service-without-spirituality-is-exhausting-and-hopeless-but/) [Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) > [“We all want a testimony, but we’d rather skip the test that gives us one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/we-all-want-a-testimony-but-we-d-rather-skip-the-test-that-gives-us/) [Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) > [“though we all applaud the thought of transformation, most of us don’t appreciate the process that gets us there. To be transformed means we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/though-we-all-applaud-the-thought-of-transformation-most-of-us-don-t/) [Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) > [“The fact is, until we stop doubting God's goodness, we can't experience God's love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/the-fact-is-until-we-stop-doubting-god-s-goodness-we-can-t-experience/) [Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) > [“When we’re distracted and discouraged, tired and overwhelmed, there is no better place to go than to our Father. He alone has what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/when-we-re-distracted-and-discouraged-tired-and-overwhelmed-there-is/) [Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) > [“we do need to learn how to say no, but only so we are able to say yes to God when he wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/we-do-need-to-learn-how-to-say-no-but-only-so-we-are-able-to-say-yes/) [Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) > [“Take my struggles and use them for your glory. But whatever you do, please don’t leave me the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/take-my-struggles-and-use-them-for-your-glory-but-whatever-you-do/) [Joanna Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) [Explore all 17 Joanna Weaver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/) ## More Bitterness quotes > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If Japanese tea 'stands,' it acquires a coarse bitterness and an unwholesome astringency. Milk and sugar are not used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-bird/if-japanese-tea-stands-it-acquires-a-coarse-bitterness-and-an/) [Isabella Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-bird/) > [Stronger than alcohol, vaster than poetry, Ferment the freckled red bitterness of love!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/stronger-than-alcohol-vaster-than-poetry-ferment-the-freckled-red/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [“What?" I ask. I try not to get snappy with her. She hasn't really done anything wrong. Falling in love with Turner isn't a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/what-i-ask-i-try-not-to-get-snappy-with-her-she-hasn-t-really-done/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [“The fairest things have fleetest end, Their scent survives their close: But the rose’s scent is bitterness To him that loved the rose. —Francis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-rule/the-fairest-things-have-fleetest-end-their-scent-survives-their-close/) [Ann Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-rule/) > [Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. With this creed, revenge never worries my heart, degradation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/life-appears-to-me-too-short-to-be-spent-in-nursing-animosity-or/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“No," I say. "I didn't know that," and as I say it I feel flooded with bitterness at all the things Ingrid kept secret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-lacour/no-i-say-i-didn-t-know-that-and-as-i-say-it-i-feel-flooded-with/) [Nina LaCour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-lacour/) > [Forgiving someone who've done you wrong or didn't treat you right could mean that you are allowing yourself to end up away from bitterness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-t-pascua/forgiving-someone-who-ve-done-you-wrong-or-didn-t-treat-you-right/) [April T Pascua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-t-pascua/) > [You cannot be inspired if you are surrounded with negativity, open the door and step into the inspirational garden of nature. Do not let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/you-cannot-be-inspired-if-you-are-surrounded-with-negativity-open-the/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) > [It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it. Carry it by the comfortable handles of gratitude for what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-horne/it-s-not-the-load-that-breaks-you-down-it-s-the-way-you-carry-it/) [Lena Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-horne/) > [Not forgiving prolongs hurt and anger and leads to smoldering resentment, which will make us miserable until it kills us. Resentment destroys the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-walters/not-forgiving-prolongs-hurt-and-anger-and-leads-to-smoldering/) Richard Walters > [Let us not give in to pessimism, to that bitterness that the devil offers us every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/let-us-not-give-in-to-pessimism-to-that-bitterness-that-the-devil/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“Sometimes it is good to remind ourselves how bitterness tastes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rin-chupeco/sometimes-it-is-good-to-remind-ourselves-how-bitterness-tastes/) [Rin Chupeco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rin-chupeco/) > [What folly made young people, even those in middle age, think they were immortal? How much better, their lives, if they could remember the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/what-folly-made-young-people-even-those-in-middle-age-think-they-were/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [Be sure there is something waiting for you after much patience, to astonish you to a degree, that you forget the bitterness of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/be-sure-there-is-something-waiting-for-you-after-much-patience-to/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) [Browse all 1,210 Bitterness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joanna Weaver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/bitterness-is-like-drinking-poison-and-waiting-for-the-other-person/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bitterness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/bitterness-is-like-drinking-poison-and-waiting-for-the-other-person/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/joanna-weaver-30193_drinking-poison_bitterness-is-like-drinking-poison-and-w_1192278.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/joanna-weaver-30193_drinking-poison_bitterness-is-like-drinking-poison-and-w_1192278.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a8/joanna-weaver-30193_drinking-poison_bitterness-is-like-drinking-poison-and-w_1192278.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” — Joanna Weaver", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joanna Weaver", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-weaver/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Bitterness is like drinking poison and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/bitterness-is-like-drinking-poison-and-waiting-for-the-other-person/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-weaver/bitterness-is-like-drinking-poison-and-waiting-for-the-other-person/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```