My Bible study this week reminded me that sometimes I am not as mature as I would like to think. Something doesn't go my way. Or someone hurt my feelings. Or I'm just plain mad about a certain situation. And I want to sit down and pitch a little baby fit.
Other times I get to thinkin' a little too highly of myself and the ugly side of my competitive self can make an appearance. That's a different kind of fit...and it's not too pretty either.
Sometimes I think God might just be a tad concerned about my maturity!
As we start into the narrative of Joseph in The Story this week, we see Joseph as the youngest of 11 boys at that time. He is the son of his father's favorite wife (and if that don't set up some dysfunction, I don't know what does!). And right off the bat, Joseph starts trouble by bringing his father a bad report about his brothers (verse 2). Doesn't that sound like a favored youngest brother?
Jacob, who is now called Israel, doesn't help matters. He encourages Joseph's sense of entitlement and superiority with the beautiful coat that he made for Joseph. I wonder how he expected the brothers to feel once they saw the coat? Regardless of what Jacob expected, the gift engendered hatred in the hearts of the older brothers and they did not speak very kindly to Joseph.
Joseph goes on to make it worse by boasting of his dreams, where sheaves of grain and heavenly bodies were bowing down to him. And so his brothers became jealous.
This is a scenario just ripe for some family drama to unfold. Frankly I think someone needed needed to tell Joseph and his brothers to grow up! Probably should have been Jacob. It is so interesting to see all the adults in this family just adding fuel to the fire of a young boy's immaturity.
And it is convicting to me to think about the times I may have acted out of the same well of immaturity. Maybe we all need to look at ourselves and take a long cool drink of objectivity. We might even need to ask someone to help refresh us with a cold splash of reality. It's a hard thing to do...but I think it is infinitely better to do it before God has to tell us, "Oh, grow up!"
- Holly Barrett
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