Reveling in Groveling

by: Sara Leo

Tabloid magazines, talk shows, and other gossip media are a multi-million-dollar industry. We take pleasure in the lurid and tawdry lives of others, whether they are celebrities, politicians, or people enjoying their fifteen minutes of reality-show fame. We chat about the latest professional athlete’s steroid scandal or a celebrity’s plastic surgery. We joke about a politician’s affair over the water cooler at work and sometimes even over coffee after church. We cast judgment on people while reveling in their misfortune.

Paul writes that “Love does not delight in evil” (1 Cor. 13:6). The Message translates this verse, “Love doesn’t revel when others grovel.” Popular culture gives plenty of evidence of the world’s brokenness. The media use this brokenness to grab our attention. But brokenness is nothing in which we should take pleasure. God is grieved by brokenness and desires wholeness.

So the next time you feel a secret satisfaction at the fall of a pop icon, or you get a kick out of the juicy details of a celebrity scandal, or you take pleasure in the embarrassment of a disgraced politician, or you enjoy reading about the breakup of a beautiful Hollywood couple, remember: God doesn’t want us to delight in evil; he wants us to “challenge” it. He doesn’t want us to be entertained by the brokenness of people’s lives. He wants us to help heal it with the love of Christ.