A lesson from Obadiah

The book of Obadiah is easy to overlook, in part due to its brevity -- it clocks in at a mere 21 verses -- and in part due to its seemingly narrow message of judgment on Jerusalem's neighboring nation of Edom.

Evidently, as the Hebrews were being carted off to captivity, the Edomites were sitting nearby mocking the Hebrews. Recalling that the Edomites were related to the Hebrews through Isaac, Obadiah delivers the message that the Edomites' mockery will not go unpunished (Obadiah 1:12, KJV),

But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.

For this haughty attitude, God promises (Obadiah 1:15, KJV)

Thy reward shall return upon thine own head.

Again, it's easy to ignore the book of Obadiah since it appears to deal with an ancient political dispute between two nations. But the larger question for us is this: Have we ever behaved like Edom when misfortune fell upon someone else? When politicians, or athletes, or even people we know encounter embarrassing situations or misfortunes, do we ever take a kind of perverse delight? Plain and simple, that kind of attitude, even if kept to ourselves, is a sin. And our "reward" for such an attitude? "Thy reward shall return upon thine own head."

Let us try to flush such haughty thoughts out of our heads.