1 Corinthians 13:6a
Ps Paul Cheng
“…our intention and motivation should not be to gossip but to help…”
~3 min read
1 Corinthians 13:6a, Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity.
To rejoice is to be happy or find satisfaction. Love never takes satisfaction from iniquity or sin, whether it is our own sins or the sins of others. When we commit a sin, it is already bad enough, but to be happy about it, is even worse.
First and foremost, rejoicing in sin is wrong because sin offends God. How can we be happy with something that offends and grieves our heavenly Father? If we truly love God, whatever offends Him will offend us, and whatever grieves Him, will grieve us.
We may not find ourselves rejoicing in sins like violence, crime, immorality, murder, etc. But rejoicing in sin can take many different forms.
- It can take the form of hoping someone will make a mistake or fall into sin (especially someone whom we do not like).When we find ourselves very eager to hear bad news about the person, or how he or she has fallen into sin, something is very wrong. That is not love!
Some years back, I had a friend who tried to counsel someone about a certain sin the latter had committed. That person refused to take his advice and continued in his sin. My friend was disappointed that this counsel was not well-received, and became angry. He was so consumed with anger that he wished that the person would get in deep trouble, and pay a heavy price for the things he had done. That is not love!
It does not matter whether the person is your friend, or someone who despises you, or your greatest enemy. Do you find yourself rejoicing in seeing him or her being destroyed through sin? Think of someone who has hurt you very deeply, and then you hear of him making some foolish decisions and subsequently facing some serious consequences, what is your attitude and emotion in hearing that piece of news? If you take delight in telling someone else, “Do you remember so-and so? Do you remember what he did? Did you hear what happened to him? He deserves it!”, if there is some kind of joy derived from the fall of that person, it is not love because love rejoiceth not in iniquity.
- Another common form of rejoicing in sin is gossip.Many people would take this sin very lightly, but this is very wicked. What gossip does is it amplifies the sins and weaknesses of others. People who gossip would often say, “But what I am saying is true.” Even though what they say may be true, it is still gossip because their intention and motivation is to hurt and not to Whenever we gossip, we are sharing something negative about the person, or something that reflects poorly on his or her character, it is not for encouragement or edification.
But that does not mean we do not speak against sin and iniquity. Whenever we speak against sin, our intention and motivation should not be to gossip but to help. That is why we must deal with it in a biblical way. Take church discipline for example. Do you realize how church discipline helps us not to gossip? Why do you think Matthew 18 tells us to go to the person one-on-one? So that we can help the person in the most private way possible, and when the person responds to the first step of discipline, that will be the end of it. Keep it private (don’t gossip, keep it one-on-one)! But if he does not want to listen one-on-one, what do we do? Take 10 or 20 persons with us, to speak to him? No! Take 2 or 3 persons, so that if he listens, it is still dealt with in a private sense. It is only when the person chooses not to listen, and he continues to disobey, that is when we bring it to the church level. Why do we do that? Because instead of going around to gossip, we are opening the matter up. We have to do that, to keep the purity of the church!
With love in Christ,
Pastor Paul Cheng
1 CORINTHIANS 13The Qualities Of Love (Part 1) — Love Suffereth LongThe Qualities Of Love (Part 1) — Love Suffereth Long1 Corinthians 13:4a
Introduction To The Qualities Of LoveIntroduction To The Qualities Of Love1 Corinthians 13
What Has Love Got To Do With Spiritual Gifts?What Has Love Got To Do With Spiritual Gifts?1 Corinthians 13:1-3
The Qualities Of Love (Part 2) — Love Is KindThe Qualities Of Love (Part 2) — Love Is KindCorinthians 13:4b
The Qualities Of Love (Part 5) — Love Is Not Puffed UpThe Qualities Of Love (Part 5) — Love Is Not Puffed Up1 Corinthians 13:4e
The Qualities Of Love (Part 4) — Love Vaunteth Not ItselfThe Qualities Of Love (Part 4) — Love Vaunteth Not Itself1 Corinthians 13:4d
The Qualities Of Love (Part 3) — Love Envieth NotThe Qualities Of Love (Part 3) — Love Envieth NotCorinthians 13:4c
The Qualities Of Love (Part 9) — Love Thinketh No EvilThe Qualities Of Love (Part 9) — Love Thinketh No Evil1 Corinthians 13:5d
The Qualities Of Love (Part 7) — Love Is Not SelfishThe Qualities Of Love (Part 7) — Love Is Not Selfish1 Corinthians 13:5b
The Qualities Of Love (Part 8) — Love Is Not Easily ProvokedThe Qualities Of Love (Part 8) — Love Is Not Easily Provoked1 Corinthians 13:5c
The Qualities Of Love (Part 6) — Love Does Not MisbehaveThe Qualities Of Love (Part 6) — Love Does Not Misbehave1 Corinthians 13:5a
The Qualities Of Love (Part 10) — Love Rejoiceth Not In IniquityThe Qualities Of Love (Part 10) — Love Rejoiceth Not In Iniquity1 Corinthians 13:6a
The Qualities Of Love (Part 11) — Love Rejoiceth In The TruthThe Qualities Of Love (Part 11) — Love Rejoiceth In The Truth1 Corinthians 13:6b
The Qualities Of Love (Part 15) — Love Endureth All ThingsThe Qualities Of Love (Part 15) — Love Endureth All Things1 Corinthians 13:7d
The Qualities Of Love (Part 14) — Love Hopeth All ThingsThe Qualities Of Love (Part 14) — Love Hopeth All Things1 Corinthians 13:7c
The Qualities Of Love (Part 12) — Love Bears All ThingsThe Qualities Of Love (Part 12) — Love Bears All Things1 Corinthians 13:7a
The Qualities Of Love (Part 13) — Love Believeth All ThingsThe Qualities Of Love (Part 13) — Love Believeth All Things1 Corinthians 13:7b
The Permanence Of LoveThe Permanence Of Love1 Corinthians 13:8-13