“Please…I’d
rather do it myself.”
Joseph’s
conduct in prison was perfectly reasonable…and understandable. He began to view
God’s faithfulness as a function of his circumstances. When he was living the
good life in Potiphar’s’ house it was all about God. In prison? Not so much.
After refusing
the advances of Potiphar’s wife and refusing to sin against God, he ended up in
prison anyway. So much for the blessings of obedience. Joseph had a bit of
a relapse. He was surely disappointed with God and began managing his own
life. It works like this…
We
begin evaluating all our actions in terms of the benefits that we receive in
turn. So, I do you a favor with the expectation that you
will do me a favor. Many great philosophers believed this is the root of all
human behavior. There is no such thing as altruism. So, Joseph interpreted a
dream…but not for free. After doing it he said”when
all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh
and get me out of this prison“.
It’s
not evil. Joseph didn’t go completely over to the dark side. He still
acknowledged that the ability to interpret dreams came from God. He
found the perfect pragmatic balance between God and man. It’s just
out of character for Joseph…or any of us who see our lives as the product of
God’s benevolence. Our character is supposed to reflect everything back to
God…even when our circumstances are disappointing. It’s in our nature to say “God
didn’t come through for me so I’d better handle things myself“. It’s just
not the nature that God wants to see in us.
Joseph
tried handling his own problems…and look where it got him. The cupbearer, in
whom Joseph placed his trust, forgot about him. I suspect we already know we
achieve the same results. Pragmatic balance doesn’t really deliver what it
promises.
Live boldly
out there today…
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