Don't Gloat

Scripture Reading: Amos 8-9; Obadiah; Jonah 1; Revelation 13

Do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune.

Obadiah 12

There was a time in the not so long ago past when you could shop, work, and live around people with whom you had profound differences about politics, moral, and religion and not feel the need to be at war with them. I’m not saying there weren’t protests and arguments. There were. Those things have always existed in this fallen world. I’m saying the hatred for the other side wasn’t as deep. And everyone wasn’t triggered by every slight, perceived or real.

The outgrowth of this visceral hatred is that it extends even to celebrating tragic events that happen to those on the other side.

Obadiah pronounces judgment on Edom. One of the reasons they were condemned is because they watched Israel’s demise. They stood at a distance and looked on as foreign invaders conquered Jerusalem and carried off its treasures. And they gloated. They laughed in scorn. They cared nothing for their brother.

This is still an evil worthy of condemnation. It doesn’t mean we sacrifice truth, our moral, or are strongly held convictions to mollify and enemy. It doesn’t mean we can’t acknowledge that sin has consequences and that sometimes a people’s downfall is self-induced.

What it means is we shouldn’t rejoice of the suffering of others, no matter the cause of it.