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Love “rejoiceth not in iniquity, but it rejoiceth in the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:6/KJV)
This concerns our values. What can excite or thrill us? What are our preferences?
During the last, may be, two years we have been studying aspects of love as described in verses 4 and 5. Now we are pointed to much more general concepts. This is about iniquity versus truth. If we were to draw a line with all iniquity on the one end and all truth on the other, where would we locate ourselves?
As I have been thinking about this verse, somehow Psalm 1 came to my mind. Here I also find both extremes: godliness and sinfulness.
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” (Psalm 1:1/KJV).
Here our attention is drawn to three aspects of rejoicing in iniquity.
- Number one is what advice are we prepared to follow? Who are the people we are listening to? Are they morally upright and godly people? Are they individuals who (at times) do not care about legitimate rights of others? Or are they persons who just make their own desires and emotions their guiding principle?
- The second aspect is about what we actually do. Blessed is he or she who does not take up habits of careless sinners.
- Thirdly we are pointed to our way of talking and thinking about others. Some will continually dwell on weaknesses and mistakes of other people. These could be real or alluded. They will reduce them to negative aspects of their character. They are unable to see any good in them. -The Psalm recommends us not to merge with such people. Spending hours with persons, who are in the habit of speaking negatively about everyone but themselves, can draw us down very low.
”But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” (Psalm 1:2/KJV).
This is parallel to rejoicing in the truth. It is good to think about biblical values. It is good to spend time reflecting what Christian love would imply in our own circumstances.
