“On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. You should not gloat over your brother in the day of his misfortune...”
This short book is a prophecy against Edom, who stood by as God’s people were ravaged in war. But it speaks to God’s opinion of our callousness. The church could be accused of this same aloofness today. We at times self-righteously stand by as our brothers are wrecked and looted by their sin, and God says that makes us just like the ones doing the looting.
Arrogant self-righteousness is a problem. It is the antithesis of humility and gratefulness, so how can our hearts hold both? If we are rightfully overwhelmed by the grace that has been offered to us, how can we not offer that same grace to other people? Celebrating over the devastation of others is dangerous, even if they deserve it… because we deserve it too.
Still, I am tempted to cheer when my enemies suffer ... I tend to find it satisfying when people whose agendas I oppose are destroyed by their own virtue signaling. I can be indifferent when people actively embrace sin and receive its outcome.
But is that a biblical response? Shouldn’t I instead hurt for their blindness, and entrapment in sin? … Have I forgotten that I have been commissioned to fight for them, not against them? I am clearly commanded to love my enemies… actively. It doesn’t take outward rejoicing at their destruction … just standing aloof as they suffer is enough to anger my Lord.
When I was lost in sin, Jesus did not celebrate the pain I brought on myself, He didn’t condescendingly say “I told you so” … He died for me… Now He tells me to love in the same way. New or Old Testament, God doesn’t change, and He does not expect aloofness from me. I should be running towards the fire to save others, since I was pulled from the fire myself …
And just like Jesus’ love for me, my love for sinners should be undeterred by their sin.
“The only way love can last … is if it's unconditional. … love is not determined by the one being loved but rather by the one choosing to love.” - Stephen Kendrick
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