Senior Pastor Rev. Jaerock Lee
"Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;" 1 Corinthians 13:4-6
It is more likely that honest people would succeed in developed countries than in under developed countries, where the corruption index is high. Unrighteousness is closely related with the rise and fall of nations, too. For this reason it is called 'the disease that kills nations'. It also has tremendous impact on personal lives.
Not to rejoice in unrighteousness is similar to but not same as 'not thinking of evil'. Not to think of evil is to harbor no evil at all whereas 'not to rejoice in unrighteousness' is to be unhappy about unfavorable things that are shown externally and to not participate in evil things.
1. Not to Rejoice in Unrighteousness
Suppose you are jealous of one of your friends who is rich. You think he is bragging too much. So, now you wish him bad luck and that he'd go bankrupt. This is evil thought.
Then, that rich friend fell into a con scheme and actually went bankrupt. Now, you are happy and you think he deserves it. This is to rejoice in unrighteousness. Furthermore, if you participate in evil things, it is to very actively rejoice in unrighteousness.
There is also unrighteousness even by the public's standard. It is cheating or extorting others to gain wealth, rather than earning your honest wages through sweat.
They seek their benefit even by breaking the law and proper procedures. If a judge accepts bribes and gives an unfair sentence, it is unrighteousness in anyone's eyes.
Some merchants cheat the measures, or they use low quality material to increase their profit. They just focus on short-term profit even at the expense of other people's sufferings. They deliberately cheat. There are just so many people who try to cheat just to gain some unrighteous gain. Now, what kind of person are you?
Suppose you work for the government. You found out one of your close friends is making a lot of money illegally. If found out, his punishment would be grave. Let's say he gives you a great amount of money and tells you to just look the other way. He says he will give you more when things go well. Actually, you have a problem at home and you need money. In this kind of situation, what would you do?
Let's look at another situation. One day, you have a greater balance than you expected in your bank account. The tax agency made a mistake and didn't take the correct amount. Would you rejoice thinking you got a break by their mistake?
2 Chron. 19:7 says, "Now then let the fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe." God is perfectly righteous; He has no unrighteousness at all. We might be able to cheat men but not God. We have to live with integrity and faithfulness with reverence in God.
When his nephew was taken as a captive, Abraham recovered not just his nephew but also all the people in the city of Sodom. Abraham did such a great favor to the king of Sodom. The king was thankful and offered Abraham the things that were recovered, but he declined (Gen. 14:22-23).
When his wife Sarah died, the land owner offered him the land, but he didn't take it before he paid the full price. It was to prevent any strife in the future. He didn't have any desire or intention to take any gain that was not earned.
Those who love God and are loved by Him will never cause any harm to others or seek their benefit violating the law. They don't want anything other than what they honestly earned. Those who rejoice in unrighteousness have no love for God or for their neighbors.
2. Consequences of Rejoicing in Unrighteousness
The unrighteousness in God's sight is slightly different from that in general sense. It is not only breaking the law and causing harm to others but every sin that is in violation of the word of God.
When the evil in heart is actualized, it is sin. Unrighteousness is especially the works of the flesh, which are the external actualization of sinful natures such as hatred and jealousy. For this reason it is difficult for the unrighteous to be saved (1 Cor. 6:9-10).
Achan loved unrighteousness and drove himself into destruction. Since his childhood he had seen and heard of the things that the LORD God had done for his people. He knew God guided them with pillar of cloud in the day and pillar of fire at night. He witnessed the flooding Jordan River stopping and the city of Jericho falling down.
He knew very well that the reason why Joshua prohibited taking any spoils of war from Jericho was because they were supposed to be given to God. However, when he saw the things in Jericho, he got greedy and couldn't control himself.
He was accustomed to the dust and simple life of the wilderness, and when he saw the splendid things of Jericho, it was eye-opening to him. When he saw the beautiful mantle and silver and gold, he forgot God's words and Joshua's instructions. He took and hid them.
Due to his sin, Israel lost in the battle against the city of Ai. Finally his unrighteousness was revealed and he and his household were stoned to death. The heap of those stones was called the valley of Achor, a symbol of curse.
We also have Balaam who knew how to communicate with God. One day, Balak the Moabite king asked Balaam to curse the sons of Israel. God said to Balam, "Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed" (Num. 22:12).
Balaam listened to God's word and refused the king's request the first time. However, when the king sent more gold and silver and precious things, his mind was changed. Finally, he taught the king how to inflict hardships on the sons of Israel. As a result, the sons of Israel ate the things sacrificed to idols and played harlotry. They suffered a great calamity. Later, Baal was killed by a sword. It was the result of loving unrighteous gains.
What should we do if we see God's children acting in unrighteousness just like unbelievers? We have to mourn, pray for them with love and help them to live by God's word. However, some believers envy such people thinking they want to take it easy in their Christian lives. Furthermore, if they participate in such unrighteous acts, we can never say they love the Lord.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Our Savior Jesus was crucified to save the unrighteous sinners (1 Pet. 3:18). We have received such great love from God in that we were saved through Jesus's crucifixion. Therefore, we shouldn't just stop at not acting in unrighteousness but keep the words of God as they are.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become God's true children who do not rejoice in unrighteousness like Abraham and enjoy a prosperous life.
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