From Pastor Marvin Happy Thursday! Let’s go! We’re reading Proverbs 24 today. Who does not want to see his enemy get what’s coming to him? If somebody wounds me deeply, there is something in me that wants to see that person suffer as well. If I am slighted or left out on a project, something in me, secretly wants to see the project fail so I can gloat over the failure and for them not selecting me. Getting revenge on an enemy and watching him or her suffer is a fairly normal response and may be perceived as justified. However, according to Proverbs 24:17-18, this is a warped way of thinking and it actually displeases God. “Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall; don’t be happy when they stumble.18 For the LORD will be displeased with you and will turn his anger away from them.” These verses denounce gloating over the misfortune or judgment that falls upon our enemy. This verse does not just censure our outward expressions of delight over the person’s failure; it also includes our very thoughts about the person as well. Rather than gloating over our enemy’s failure and calamity, we should respond with kindness. I know. I know. This is craziness, right? Well, our Rabbi did it and he asks us to do it as well (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:28). What is the motivation for this seemingly crazy wisdom? Verse 18 gives us the motive for this wisdom. The first reason is that the Lord sees what’s behind the expressions and demeanor – our heart. He knows the evil going on in our hearts even if our outward expressions don’t demonstrate it. Our hearts are laid bare before his all-seeing eyes. Because he knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts, we then are confronted with the problem that he might not be so pleased with what he finds there. Secondly, it displeases him. Displeased means “evil in his God’s eyes.” When we rejoice and gloat over our enemy’s misfortune, what we have done is compounded the evil. The evil began with our enemy treating us badly or doing evil to us. Whether directly or indirectly, God has or will deal with our enemy’s sin against us. God, can you please hurry up and let me see it, too? Who hasn’t said or thought this? I digress. When we gloat over our enemy’s misfortune or calamity, we introduce a new evil into the equation. Now, the Lord has to deal with this new evil like he did the first evil from our enemy. Whoa! Didn’t expect that, did you? I didn’t either. There’s more. What does it mean for the Lord to turn his anger away from them? Here’s the clincher: I believe the implied meaning here is, the Lord will turn his anger away from our enemies evil toward us to deal with the new evil that has found in us toward our enemies. “I thought this was all about dealing with my enemy, Lord. How did this become about me, and you disciplining me?” I can hear the Lord replying: “The moment you decided to repay evil with evil by rejoicing and gloating over your enemy’s misfortunes and failings.” What should be our response? Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for and bless those who do evil to us. Questions/Comments? How did God speak to you today through Proverbs 24? Have a great day!
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 11:35:24 +0000
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