Happiness or Sadness?
“Do not rejoice when your enemies fall…”
Each child of God has enemies. Among our adversaries we find the devil and his demons; the world and its temptations; the flesh and its wickedness and a host of evil dangers. Sometimes our worst enemy are ourselves.
We also have many human enemies, even though our main enemies are not “blood and flesh” (Ephesians 6:12). The devil uses his “children” (John 8:44) very effectively against the children of God.
In reality the battle is the Lord’s and he will avenge us and defeat our enemies.
God prefers that we be compassionate and forgiving to those that offend us. Christ gave us the example when he prayed on the cross:
“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
God is in control of all situations and of all our enemies. I know that sometimes it seems as if our enemies would prevail over us, but God watches over us and will protect us from their attacks. We should not be glad when God punishes them, we should actually cry for their souls that are on their way to hell.
Christ gave us the ultimate example of love as he died for his enemies. If you are not willing to give your life for your adversaries, at least pray for them to change and become Christians.
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls. When you do this, you are acting as diabolically as your foe. It is hard to forgive and to turn the other cheek. It is harder still to pray that God would bless our enemies, but love is the best weapon that God uses to change or avenge.
