Journeys

Today in the twist and turns of the Old Testament journeys we come across Jacob’s son Joseph being sold by his brothers from Canaan to Egypt in Genesis 37: “…when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.”

Of all the journeys found in the Old Testament, perhaps the story of Joseph is the most well known to our generation, thanks to the work of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. At the heart of the story of Joseph is that of favouritism and the jealousy of his brothers that changes the direction of his and their journey.

Bob Marley, the Jamaican singer and musician advocated that,  “Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!

There is a fable of an eagle which could out fly another, and the other didn't like it. The latter saw a sportsman one day, and said to him:

"I wish you would bring down that eagle." The sportsman replied that he would if he only had some feathers to put into the arrow. So the eagle pulled one out of his wing. The arrow was shot, but didn't quite reach the rival eagle; it was flying too high. The envious eagle pulled out more feathers, and kept pulling them out until he lost so many that he couldn't fly, and then the sportsman turned around and killed him. My friend, if you are jealous, the only man you can hurt is yourself.

In Philippians chapter 2 Paul writes, “Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.”

Lord Jesus, my sincere desire is to become holy like you. Set me free from anxious thoughts that cause me to become jealous towards others. Please give me the grace to control jealous emotions when they arise. Please teach me how to be happy for my friends and family when they succeed. Purify my mind from ungodly thoughts and help me to walk in the way that is pleasing to you. In Jesus’ name, I believe and pray, Amen.