When someone famous dies, especially in Christian circles, it seems like there are two responses: sadness from the fans and rude comments from those who didn’t care for the person. They rarely straight out say, “Good riddance,” but that appears to be the heart behind their words. If you believe in a literal Hell, it should sadden you when someone passes away that may not have known Jesus; if someone does know Jesus and you do too, you will be spending eternity with this person whether you like it or not.

Scripture says, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16), but sometimes we are too quick to assume we know someone’s motives. Regardless of what we think of a person, we should be careful what we say about them publicly unless what is said is done out of love for someone–either to urge them to repentance or to warn people about following them because you have a really good reason to do so.

The internet has made it easy to blast people, but the old adage still holds true: If you can’t say something nice, it may be better not to say anything at all. Instead of gloating when someone falls into sin or someone you dislike dies, I recommend examining your own heart to make sure you are in the faith. God will take care of everyone else.