DEVOTION, OCTOBER 3, Saturday

“Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth (1 Cor. 13:6).

In the great love chapter, Paul spells out how love acts. Do you ever feel joy when someone you do not like gets caught in a wrongdoing? The Germans have a word for it: “Schadenfreude.” It means feeling joy over the failings of others. Paul says we should never rejoice when we ourselves do wrong. Christians do not chuckle about how they cheated someone and got away with it. Nor do we feel happy when someone else does wrong. More than once, I have heard “Christians” laugh when some enemy of theirs did wrong and got caught. We should never feel joy when others fall, even if they are enemies.

What makes us happy is truth. Christians speak the truth, and they rejoice when others speak the truth. How important is truth to us? Will we speak the truth when we are tempted to lie? Our God is a God of truth. Truth makes Him happy, and we should feel the same. When we study the Bible or hear a sermon that proclaims the truth of God’s Word we should feel joy. Does truth affect you that way?

Father, You are a God of truth. No lies or deceits ever come from You. I thank You that as I read Your Word I am face to face with truth. I should rejoice in Your truth, but sometimes I fall short. Help me to feel joy in Your truth, In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.