Celebrating Another's Failure
It almost seems more and more common that we celebrate when someone else fails. Especially when that person is someone we don’t like, we see this through the twitter-verse all the time. It has even become more common where people mock or celebrate (if you want to call it that) when people that choose different actions are injured or die from those decisions. Vaccines? Ya, now people are on social media mocking others for their choices. And when decisions have different consequences, people celebrate failure.
If you are honest with yourself, you have to acknowledge that sometimes you do this. When a politician (you did not vote for) fails and issues arise, we celebrate. “See, I knew he/she was a bad person.” Even when some still think they are doing a good job, you push people to see that they are failing at something. And the problem is not just politics. We do this in the workplace, hoping for others to fail to prove our value and worth.
We seem to be more cynical and singular in our society. We are never looking at the good of people and group but us only as individuals.
We do this in our faith. Yes, our faith is individual in some form. A personal relationship and recognition of Jesus Christ. But it is also plural. Jesus, throughout his ministry, points us to the community. So instead of celebrating or judging the failure of others (whether work, words, actions, or faith), maybe we should be supporting.
Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall; don’t be happy when they stumble. - Proverbs 24:17