Devotions for June, Entry 24 {rejoice}

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 1 Corinthians 13:6

Evil is an extreme word. Most people don’t use the word to seriously describe other people. So it may be normal to gloss over this verse. Of course we wouldn’t delight in evil. And of course we would rejoice in the truth – meaning, to most, that we rejoice in the good and right.

Yesterday was a day full of good news from several of my friends and family – jobs, relationships, babies. I was so thrilled with all of the good fortune coming to the ones I care about.

But to be honest, I don’t always feel that way. A lot of times when someone I know gets good news, I look inside and think, ‘why not me?’ and then I wallow in self-pity instead of rejoicing with the person. I’m not proud of it.

On the flip side, do you ever secretly delight when your family or friends who seem to have everything going for them have something go wrong? Are you like, ‘finally!’? Yeah, me too. That, friends, may be delighting in evil. And the stuff above is not rejoicing with the truth.

So there it is. We do it. Next time I feel like reveling in someone else’s misfortune, I will try to check myself. After all, would you want people doing that to you?

p.s. Congrats to all my peeps to whom this good fortune pertains! You know who you are!