Prosper Despite Oppression

July 17, 2017

From today’s reading…

A new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, came to power in Egypt. (And oppressed the Israelites.)…Yet the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread.”

We see an example of a few things here:

  • The cemetery is filled with irreplaceable people.

  • You get more flies with honey than with vinegar.

  • You can’t keep a good man or woman down. 

Joseph was the second most powerful person in the world and the dirt is still fresh on his grave when along comes a new sheriff in town and he’s like “New phone, who dis Joseph y’all keep talkin’ ‘bout?”

And he drops the hammer.

Just like that, the good times, the bountiful times, the fruitful times are over and hard times have arrived…or have they?

Before we look at that let me ask you something? How do you react when things change? When they change suddenly and without warning? When things don’t go your way? When you don’t like the person in the Governor’s mansion on the White House?

Do you whine and complain at the bar with your chums? Do you yell at the TV? Do you kick the dog?

Or do you gird up your loins and do something about it?

Complaining is easy. Focused, targeted action takes discipline.

One little ol’ excuse can last you a lifetime. Success takes daily effort.

Getting back to our story…were the fruitful times over when this new king took over? Sure, the Israelites were turned into slaves and abused, yet they “multiplied and spread.”

Hmmmm. How is that?

They didn’t have government healthcare or 401(k)s or school lunches and yet they “multiplied and spread.”

How? Why?

Why not just give up and die? What’s the purpose of living, let alone raising a family in those conditions?

Faith. Hope. Love.

The Israelites had faith that they were destined for greater things as a people so even if their lives were miserable they hoped for a better life for those who came after them so they continued to love one another. To multiply. To spread.

If the new king was smart he would’ve given the Israelites wine, beer, unlimited streaming movies and TV shows, fast food, Fantasy Football, and Candy Crush and they would’ve become docile as lambs.

Instead, the new king was stubborn, angry, and scared so his thinking was not clear. He didn’t understand that whatever you fight will grow and that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference.

His hate lead to his downfall.

What do you hate?

How’s that working out for you?

Are you multiplying and spreading hate or love?

I’m sure you have a great excuse for hate.

Do you have enough faith, hope, and love to multiply and spread?

Stay the course.Keep the faith.Endure.