DON'T LAUGH WHEN ENEMIES FALL

Proclamation:

“Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or The Lord will see and disapprove and turn His wrath away from him.” Proverbs 24:17-18

Explanation:

These are The Holy Spirit inspired words of King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live.  The Lord sees the people who do wrong to the saints and they will be punished.  He said that the wicked shall stumble and fall and be brought down by calamity. (Proverbs 24:16)  Then he told them that if you are blessed to see your enemy fall, don’t gloat or rejoice over their misfortune.  Their doing that would displease The Lord and He will stop punishing their enemy.

Application:

We shouldn't be happy and celebrate when bad things happen to our enemies.  Gloating over a fallen enemy can be a more serious problem than the sin that our enemy committed when they did us wrong.  That would not be good Christian behavior and it would displease The Lord.  Additionally, that would cause The Lord to stop punishing them and that is not what we want Him to do.  In fact, what we should do is be nice to them.  The Bible teaches us that we are to love our enemies, bless them, do good to them, and pray for them (Matthew 24:43-45).  By being good to them we bring shame and more punishment to them and we “… heap burning coals of fire on their head.” (Romans 12:20)  Don't make God mad by laughing at someone who is getting their punishment for doing wrong.  Let God handle it and them.  It is written, "… Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith The Lord." (Romans 12:19 KJV)  He also said "... It is mine to avenge; I will repay …” (Hebrews 10:30)  So, don’t laugh at them and ruin everything.

Do Not Rejoice At The Misfortune Of Others

"Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or The LORD will see and disapprove and turn His wrath away from him."  Proverbs 24:17-18 (NIV)

The wise man, King Solomon, told the people that they should not laugh or rejoice when their enemy stumbles or falls.  Their being joyful at their enemy's misfortune is not pleasing to The Lord, and their joy may cause Him to turn His wrath away from their enemy.

It is not Christ-like for believers to laugh at, make fun of, or find joy in the misfortune of others.  The Lord may allow you to see your enemy's downfall, but that is not intended to be a cause for celebration.  Vengeance belongs to The Lord, and He will repay or punish them for the wrong that they have done to one of His saints.  We are not to return a wrong for a wrong, nor are we to rejoice if The Lord lets us see when those who have done us wrong, get what they deserve.  No one's misfortune should bring us pleasure.  We should not fine joy in any one's sorrow.  

Don't Laugh When Others Fall

"Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or The LORD will see and disapprove and turn His wrath away from him."  Proverbs 24:17-18 (NIV)

The wisest of the wise men, King Solomon, said do not be glad when your enemy falls, God will see you rejoicing and He will disapprove of your behavior.

The Bible says that we are to pray for our enemy and do good to them. (Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:28)  By doing good to those who do us wrong, we heap hot burning coals upon their heads. God will cause them to suffer. (Proverbs 25:21-22)   But laughing at them in the mist of their misfortune is not the Christian thing to do, and God will not be pleased with us for doing so.  We are to have sympathy and compassion for our fellow man, even the ones who wrong us.  It is easy to love those who love us.  It is not so easy to love those who do not love us, and who show their dislike for us.  But that is exactly what Jesus wants us to do. (Matthew 5:46-48)   As Christians we are to display Godly behavior, even when those around us do not.  To do that requires much prayer, and God's help, and we need to ask God for His help to do this.