August 12, 2025
Becky Sweat
The first part of Romans 12:15 says to “rejoice with those who rejoice.” Truth be told, we’re not always inclined to do this. Many times in our dog-eat-dog world, people find themselves competing with friends, sinking to envy if a companion one-ups them. But there’s no way two people can be close if one is jealous of the other.
In a strong, healthy relationship, friends rejoice in each other’s achievements, successes and blessings. There’s no rivalry, envy, comparisons between them, or one person trying to out-do the other. 
Each person wants the other to do well, even if it means being outshone. Good friends find true happiness in each other’s happiness, always cheer
ing the other on to do his or her very best. That includes when your friend gets the job promotion you wanted, goes on a luxurious vacation you could never afford, or is accepted to the college you couldn’t get into.
We need to remind ourselves that as wonderful as these achievements are, what’s most important is that we’re the kind of people who want to build up others and cheer them on to success (as we’re told to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:11), even if that means they’re going to pass us up. Doing so strengthens our relationships, and it’s also the kind of character God wants to see in us.
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