One of the more difficult aspects of love is having the right attitude toward the actions of other people. We have a responsibility to those around us depending on what they do. For those who walk righteously, we need to encourage them to continue and be pleased with what they have done so far. When we see people engage in unrighteous behavior, it would be unloving for us to let them continue. The right thing to do is to encourage them to change their current behavior so that they can start righteously following God.

While it seems almost obvious that we would need to correct unrighteous behavior, the actual application of that principle is harder to do than to say. To say something would be to invite conflict into our lives, which most people prefer to avoid. On top of that, we might even find ourselves rejoicing in other people’s unrighteousness. Their own actions may be seen as justification for our own. Like misery, sin loves company. If other people are doing the same action that we are, that can salve our conscience. This may cause us to rejoice and even encourage other people’s sinful behavior.

On the flip side, we need to be sure that we rejoice when people live their life according to truth. At times this can be difficult for the reasons stated above. We may shy away from those who live godly lives because it makes us a bit uncomfortable. Instead we need to be encouraging those who make a stand for the truth of God’s word. It is not easy to make such stands, and it can often feel lonely. A word of encouragement and the knowledge that you are helping your brother make such stands easier to make. Finally, we need to be actively looking for the acts of righteousness others are doing. In doing so, we can find more reasons to rejoice, as well as offer encouragement to our brother.