Rejoice or not Rejoice . . . .

The Akan people of Ghana have a proverb: "The lizard is not as mad with the boys who threw stones at it as with the boys who stood by and rejoiced over its fate!" When we rejoice at someone's bad luck is like participating in the cause of that bad luck or even wishing more evil on that person.

How do we react when disaster befalls our neighbor or when our neighbor gets into trouble? If the person is nice and friendly, then we will sympathize with them and go to their aid. But what about the unfriendly, trouble-making neighbor? Ones natural inclination could be to totally ignore this person oe even secretly rejoice at their downfall.

The book of Proverbs tells us: "Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice" Instead we are to show our love toward our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.