Attitude Check

For Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Proverbs 24:17-18

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
lest the Lord see it and be displeased,
and turn away his anger from him.

This proverb seems to contradict other Scripture that speaks of rejoicing in one's victory over enemies. Indeed, doesn't the very desire for justice require joy over the downfall of wicked enemies? And that is the type of enemy meant here; otherwise the Lord's anger would not be against him.

We recognize the attitude of God here, especially if we are parents of more than one child. We ourselves, after punishing one child, will turn to the other and rebuke him for gloating over the offending sibling. And that is what this proverb is about - gloating over another's downfall. Have you noticed in movies how, when the bad guy gets "what's coming to him," his devious plans are not merely foiled, but he suffers an humiliating or especially horrible death. The producer knows that the audience is not contented with evil being checked or the innocent being vindicated. The wicked must suffer. That is what will fill the audience with satisfaction. The audience must be able to gloat.

And that is what we want in real life. We want the driver who swerved in front of us to be pulled over immediately so we can gloat over him. (We wouldn't even mind if he wrecked.) We want whoever offends us to be humbled, not because we desire the welfare of their soul but because we want to gloat. It is right to desire justice; but we too often confuse such a desire with our sinful desire for personal one-uppance. Our attitude for justice is found precisely in our attitude toward the wicked. Do we rejoice over their downfall or do we mourn that they would not repent? Justice must come, and we should rejoice over justice. But we should mourn the soul that is lost.

We forget that we too are sinners deserving God's wrath. God's displeasure could easily and rightly be turned against us, if it were not for our Lord, who instead of gloating over his enemies (us), gave himself for us and made us God's children.