This Proverb says, “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and He turn his anger away from him.” Frequently, doing the right thing is contrary to what we naturally want to do. When a person hurts us or wrongs us our natural desire is for that person to also suffer. If and when something bad does happen to that person we may be delighted and joyful thinking they got what they deserve.
However, God does not want us to be joyful and delighted when our enemy suffers. Rather we are to feel sorry for their suffering. That is hard to do.
Jesus said that we are not to hate our enemies. He said that we are to love our enemies. We are to pray for them.
The Apostle Paul said in his letter to the Romans, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” In other words, such a response will make them feel bad for what they have done to you. This response will likely result in peace and reconciliation. An enemy may actually become a friend.
Therefore, we must resist responding to situations according to our natural desires. We should rather consult the Word of God for advice and counsel as to how to proceed. That will always produce the best results.
