How to keep ourselves from failure when we see an enemy stumble
By Dean Collins
I keep looking for the exempt clause for this instruction found in Proverbs 24: “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles.” There seems to be plenty of gloating and excitement these days when someone on the other side of an issue falters. If we heard this only from those who don’t proclaim faith, I could understand. We can’t expect those who profess no allegiance to God to follow his wisdom. But if we do claim faith in God, and when we claim to follow Jesus, then we have no place laughing at the stumbles of an enemy.
Over and over again I have noticed that if we do not pay close attention to our hearts and minds, we will drift toward the behaviors and attitudes of the world. And the world does a lot of celebrating when someone they disagree with or has done them harm falls on hard times.
Jesus agrees
Notice how the instruction of the wise king fits with the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. “Love your enemies,” Jesus said, “and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.”
Someone committed to loving as Jesus loves can never celebrate when an enemy falls or stumbles. Oh, this is very difficult. I have been in situations where some have told lies about me, threatened legal actions, and tried to harm ministries I have led. Ultimately their plans and strategies backfired, but real harm and suffering did occur. In moments like these, as hard as it is, our spiritual direction is to pray for our enemies, not laugh at their misfortune.
God will deal
Proverbs adds an interesting follow-up to the warning against rejoicing at an enemy’s failures: “. . . lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.” The lord’s displeasure comes when we lower ourselves to the enemy’s tactics. Our calling is to walk in the wisdom of the Lord and to behave with love, mercy, and grace even to those who have mistreated us. Ultimately, God deals with all evil. Evil has no ultimate victory.
We must remember that the love and grace of God extended to us is also available to everyone else, including our enemies. God wants all men to come to repentance and discover his love, his mercy, and his grace. We should do nothing that interferes with another person discovering Jesus.
The enemy prompts
The enemy of God sees the shaming and ridicule rampant these days on social media and elsewhere. He will use all the bad examples to prompt us to act similarly. Only consistent time in prayer and God’s Word will equip us to catch ourselves in these tempting moments. Over time the practice of praying for our enemies and showing them love transforms us into a visible picture of Christ to them. And one day our actions may very well lead them to surrender to Jesus and experience his full and wonderful grace.
Your time with God’s Word
Proverbs 24:17-22; Matthew 5:43-48 ESV
Photo by Sander Sammy at Unsplash.
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