Unfair treatment in our society is just a given. It can run the gamut from small unfair things like someone getting in front of you in line for service or in traffic to someone cheating you by not keeping up their end of a transaction to being punished for something you did not do. You can routinely hear a news report of someone who was wrongly convicted of a crime who is being released after 5, 10, or even more than 20 years of confinement. It is not a large percentage of people in our jails, but when it happens it makes the headlines.
While most of us will not face the extreme, we will all face some form of unfairness (by the way we label unfairness) in the coming week. The big question is, how will we respond when it happens? What habits will we build in the small areas of mistreatment to keep our hearts in a good place, a place of blessing?
As far as unfair treatment goes, we don't have to go far in the book of Genesis to come to the life of Joseph and see the mistreatment he endured. Picked on by his brothers, beaten, sold into slavery, wrongly accused and imprisoned, forgotten about in jail . . . Joseph had some unfairness to deal with. So how did he do it? What can we learn from the life of Joseph in this area of living?
The first thing that stands out in the life of Joseph is 2 repeated phrases through his story of unfair treatment. The first is "The Lord was with Joseph," and the second is "Joseph served . . ." God was with Joseph. Not in the way God was with Elijah or Moses to perform miracles, but to bless the work of his hands. All that he did prospered. Which brings us to the second phrase - Joseph served. For God to prosper his work, he had to serve, not pout. God had promised to bless Joseph, and he would have no matter what Joseph did, but Joseph continued to serve in every circumstance. And he served God in every circumstance. When Potipher's wife asked him to lie with her, he gave his reason including that it would be a sin against God. His standard for service was more than just Potipher's rules, Joseph served by God's rules. Not legal, but acceptable to God. And when he was given recognition for what he did in interpreting a dream for the Pharaoh's butler, he denied it was him, but that God would give Pharaoh the interpretation of his dream. God's standards, God's glory. The one-two punch that shows a service of God rather than a service toward man.
An easy way to remember Joseph's answer to unfair treatment is to remember to "Serve the Lord, for His reward." Serve the Lord - it is a matter of focus. Who are we seeking to please? Whose standards are we going to use in our service? Who do we want to get the credit for our actions? For His reward - it is a matter of fulfillment. Do we view God's reward as enough? It far surpasses any earthly reward, but do we consider it as such? Am I going to pout or complain about how I've been overlooked or abused, or will God's reward be enough for me? It helps explain how Joseph could keep going in such tough circumstances. Will you?
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