Living in the Spirit
September 11, 2020
Scripture Reading:
Genesis 50:15-21
Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, ‘What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?’ So they approached Joseph, saying, ‘Your father gave this instruction before he died, “Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.” Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father.’ Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, ‘We are here as your slaves.’ But Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.’ In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.
Joseph carried his faith into his new life in service to the Pharaoh. We do not know whether the Pharaoh or any Egyptians sought a relationship with God because of Joseph’s example, but he apparently was allowed, even encouraged, to continue his faith. After being sold into slavery, Joseph most likely invested much of his energy into merely surviving. Somewhere in that process, he had to have let go of anger or resentment against his brothers, who were the source of his plight. He also developed a deeper relationship with God.
Holding grudges and dwelling on the past defeat our successes in life. Learning from the past opens doors of opportunity. Letting hurtful things go is not easy. Our relationship with God is crucial to our transitioning from self-defeating behavior to living God’s abundant life. Joseph had time to think and pray in prison. Elijah ran away to a mountain to commune with God. Jesus withdrew into the wilderness for 40 days to face the tempter’s challenges. And Paul, following his experience with Jesus on the road to Damascus, went to the desert pondering with God his encounter.
The first step in such a quest is self-examination. Sitting in that prison, did Joseph take the time to really see himself as his brothers saw him? He was his father’s pet. He obviously had talents that did not fit the farm and took pains to make sure his brothers knew how extraordinary he was. We each need to consider how others see us and how they perceive we see them. Looking inward requires some sort of objective mirror for us to see ourselves as others see us and to identify ways we might shift negative reactions to positive ones. God’s love, as exemplified in the life of Jesus Christ, is an excellent place to start.
Equally challenging is seeing others as they are, not through the filters we have built up over time-based on our past history. One of my most significant challenges, when I was in the workforce in a large government agency, was deciphering whether I was being treated a certain way because I was a woman or because of my work outputs. My workplace was very misogynistic. As a policy analysis in the late 1980s, I did a study of the status of women regarding that agency. I honestly did not know it was as bad as it was. The executives by percentage were almost the opposite of the workforce by gender. About 75% of the total workforce was female only 25% of the executives were female. Most of the females had more education and more years of experience than males. The female executives made salaries that were 20% less than the males. That is a lot to get over.
On the other hand, I have invested much energy in becoming anti-racist. Yet, I still discern peoples’ physical features of color or language or ethnicity or disability or gender before I weigh the content of their character as Martin Luther King Jr. desired his children to be judged. The film of my filters remains, and thus, I must continue examining and perfecting my character with God’s help. I must also invest my energy in seeing past the external while seeking the image of God in each person.
Prayer: Lord, help us grow in your truth and wisdom as we work to build a world ruled by love. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.