Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of  bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled. Hebrews 12:15

Since December 2019, the world has been more conscious of viral infections than ever before. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the infectious spread of COVID-19 to be a pandemic—and recommended precautions: face masks, cleanliness, social distancing, vaccines, boosters, and more. It’s true, infections can be dangerous, and precautions can be necessary.

The same is true of spiritual infections; they can be spiritually dangerous and deadly. For instance, the writer of Hebrews warned about a “root of bitterness springing up” in an individual, the result being that many “become defiled” (Hebrews 12:15). That’s exactly how infections spread.

And Moses warned about the same thing in Deuteronomy 29:18. 

Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.

But wait – if bitterness can be spread like an infection, what about the flip side? Could positive traits like joy be spread as well? Absolutely! In fact, joy and other similar traits might be viewed as “vaccines against carnal spiritual infections.” We can spread love, joy, peace, and other Christlike traits to others.

Let’s choose today to be a carrier of joy as you interact with others. Let’s be “super-spreaders” of Christlike traits wherever we go.Andrew Bonar once wrote:   Love is the motive for working; joy is the strength for working.