Love] does not rejoice at wrongdoing. —1 Corinthians 13:6
When we’re practicing the love outlined in 1 Corinthians 13—God’s kind of love—it means we don’t find pleasure in wickedness or sympathize with wickedness done by others. Instead, true love is grieved. It’s wounded when sin performs its destructive work.
In 1 Samuel 15, God told Samuel to tell King Saul that the crown had been taken from Saul because of his disobedience. Then in verse 11, I read something that just amazes me: “Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night.”
Saul had sinned. He deserved the consequences of his sin. But Samuel had a loving heart that grieved over Saul’s sin. You see, love never takes satisfaction from sin whether it’s our sin or that of others. Love doesn’t justify sin. How common that is in our culture today, to justify, glorify, and delight in sin!
If you and I love God, what offends Him will offend us. What grieves Him will grieve us. That’s what was said of Jesus in Hebrews 1:9: “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.”
Make it Personal
Do you laugh when sin is presented in a humorous light or are you grieved? Ask God to help you see sin from His perspective.