17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,
18 or the Lord will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from them.
19 Do not fret because of evildoers
or be envious of the wicked,
20 for the evildoer has no future hope,
and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.
The harvest has been good from my summer garden. I have enjoyed jalapeño omelets, fresh tomato pasta, pico de galo salsa, and as many tomato sandwiches I can eat. (PSA: tomato sandwiches are best made with fresh garden peeled tomatos, salt, pepper, and Dukes Mayonnaise.) I rejoice in my harvest, so why should I not also rejoice in the harvest of others? If others spent their time sowing weeds and thorns, and their harvest was one of weeds and thorns, then should I not rejoice? No, and here is why. Because we are not the judge. Even when it seems others deserve the consequences for their actions, it is not in our characters to rejoice in their failures. It is not a good look for us to gloat. This is the type of behavior of the wicked, not of the righteous. We are to leave the judgment to God. Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:43-44)
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