"...and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father." Gen 37:2
If you remember the idea of this blog, I'm trying to help people who have been hurt by churches or other Christians. Joseph was definitely a man who had been hurt by God's people. Let's take a look at what happened and why.
First, Joseph, unlike Jacob, had lived a Godly life. He told the truth when God's people were doing wrong (bringing his father the truth about his brothers).
Second, Joseph's brothers could see that their Father loved Joseph more than them. In John 14:21, Jesus said "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."
It was a self-feeding system: Joseph loved his father more than they did, and their father loved Joseph more than he loved them. You, personally, can get into a system like that, but you might have God's people turn hostile to you if you do.
To be continued...
Friday, August 22, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
The Wrong Leader
Ge 31:43 ¶ And Laban answered and said to Jacob...what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne?
Laban organized his brethren and pursued Jacob for seven days. He was the leader, and people who followed him might have received leadership positions in his "posse." But Laban, after all the bluster and effort, accomplished nothing.
He didn't get his daughters back. He didn't get his grandchildren back. Of all the blesings that God gave Jacob, Laban got none of it back. He didn't even get his household gods back, and God didn't even want Jacob to have them in the first place.
Brethren, DON'T follow leaders who aren't being blessed by God!
Laban organized his brethren and pursued Jacob for seven days. He was the leader, and people who followed him might have received leadership positions in his "posse." But Laban, after all the bluster and effort, accomplished nothing.
He didn't get his daughters back. He didn't get his grandchildren back. Of all the blesings that God gave Jacob, Laban got none of it back. He didn't even get his household gods back, and God didn't even want Jacob to have them in the first place.
Brethren, DON'T follow leaders who aren't being blessed by God!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Following Laban
Ge 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.
More people chose to follow Laban than to follow Jacob. But the ones who followed Laban got hurt, losing much of their wealth, while the ones who followed Jacob did well. Why?
There is more than one reason, but here's an important one: Jacob tried to undo the wrongs he had done. Laban never went back to Jacob to ask forgiveness for cheating him. But Jacob, although frightened, risked his life to ask Esau's forgiveness.
I have never heard of a church or a Christian school or Christian college going to someone they had wronged and asking forgiveness. Many "has-been" Christian institutions have been declining for decades, without ever trying to correct the wrongs they have done to former employees. And, in my opinion, it is better for Christians to stay away from those institutions.
But Jacob wasn't like that. He wasn't perfect, but he grew enough that he wanted to right his wrongs.
More people chose to follow Laban than to follow Jacob. But the ones who followed Laban got hurt, losing much of their wealth, while the ones who followed Jacob did well. Why?
There is more than one reason, but here's an important one: Jacob tried to undo the wrongs he had done. Laban never went back to Jacob to ask forgiveness for cheating him. But Jacob, although frightened, risked his life to ask Esau's forgiveness.
I have never heard of a church or a Christian school or Christian college going to someone they had wronged and asking forgiveness. Many "has-been" Christian institutions have been declining for decades, without ever trying to correct the wrongs they have done to former employees. And, in my opinion, it is better for Christians to stay away from those institutions.
But Jacob wasn't like that. He wasn't perfect, but he grew enough that he wanted to right his wrongs.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The Good Thing About Laban
Ge 31:42 "Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed..."
Laban was a leader who was not being used or blessed by God. Motivated by a desire to control the blessings tht God had given Jacob, Laban pursued Jacob. But with victory in sight, God forbad Laban to harm Jacob.
Laban was afraid to wrongly harm a servant of God. When I taught Christian school, I would see parents with money get teachers fired for making their children behave. The school would often wait until the end of the school year to tell the teacher he or she was not coming back next year, cutting the teacher off with no support.
And I saw three other things. In every case I know of, with no exceptions, the teachers did all right. And the Christian schools, for a variety of reasons, eventually shut down. And the church went through a downward spiral that lasted for years.
No exceptions.
Laban was a leader who was not being used or blessed by God. Motivated by a desire to control the blessings tht God had given Jacob, Laban pursued Jacob. But with victory in sight, God forbad Laban to harm Jacob.
Laban was afraid to wrongly harm a servant of God. When I taught Christian school, I would see parents with money get teachers fired for making their children behave. The school would often wait until the end of the school year to tell the teacher he or she was not coming back next year, cutting the teacher off with no support.
And I saw three other things. In every case I know of, with no exceptions, the teachers did all right. And the Christian schools, for a variety of reasons, eventually shut down. And the church went through a downward spiral that lasted for years.
No exceptions.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Being a Leader?
Ge 31:22 And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled.
23 Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days' journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead.
Laban was a leader. In his conflict with Jacob, Laban was able to get his brethren to take his side. Jacob, meanwhile, couldn't get any of his brethren (except for his wives and children) to side with him.
Yes, Laban was a leader. But God wasn't blessing him. His success as a leader was partly the result of his ability to inspire jealousy of Jacob and partly the result of his ability to exploit greed.
In fact, there is only one good thing that can be said about Laban as a leader...
23 Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days' journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead.
Laban was a leader. In his conflict with Jacob, Laban was able to get his brethren to take his side. Jacob, meanwhile, couldn't get any of his brethren (except for his wives and children) to side with him.
Yes, Laban was a leader. But God wasn't blessing him. His success as a leader was partly the result of his ability to inspire jealousy of Jacob and partly the result of his ability to exploit greed.
In fact, there is only one good thing that can be said about Laban as a leader...
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Gen 31:26-30 And Laban said to Jacob: "What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword?...And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters...but why did you steal my gods?"
Afraid to attack Jacob after God warned him not to, Laban could only rely on accusations. And although almost everything was Laban's fault, his accusations were fairly accurate. But all the accusations in the world could not change the fact that God was blessing Jacob, not Laban. Laban had a lot more sin that Jacob did, and he was jealous of Jacob.
It is normal for Christians who are being used by God to be accused by jealous Christians who are not being blessed. And while many of the accusations may be true, the accuser may well have a lot more sin than the accused.
Afraid to attack Jacob after God warned him not to, Laban could only rely on accusations. And although almost everything was Laban's fault, his accusations were fairly accurate. But all the accusations in the world could not change the fact that God was blessing Jacob, not Laban. Laban had a lot more sin that Jacob did, and he was jealous of Jacob.
It is normal for Christians who are being used by God to be accused by jealous Christians who are not being blessed. And while many of the accusations may be true, the accuser may well have a lot more sin than the accused.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Pr 14:35 ¶ The king's favor is toward a wise servant...
Pr 11:30 ¶... he who wins souls is wise.
These two verses help explain the helpless anger that some Christians feel as they watch God bless their enemies. When Christians set out to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, Jesus works in their lives to make them fishers of men. They then go through trials, tests, temptations, and troubles that most Christians rarely experience. The result is a harvest of souls saved.
But Christians who do not have this spiritual growth don't understand what is going on. They see the results of Satan's attacks on the soul-winners, and they attribute these results to ungodliness on the part of the soul-winner. They don't understand that they, personally, do not undergo these same attacks because they are not spiritual enough to handle them.
Many Godly men, churches, and colleges have "Christian hatesites" dedicated to them. There, Christians who have failed to obey the Great Commission can blast away at the failings of those who are more successful then them.
The result? God keeps blessing His Godly servants, and the critics are bypassed for success.
Pr 11:30 ¶... he who wins souls is wise.
These two verses help explain the helpless anger that some Christians feel as they watch God bless their enemies. When Christians set out to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, Jesus works in their lives to make them fishers of men. They then go through trials, tests, temptations, and troubles that most Christians rarely experience. The result is a harvest of souls saved.
But Christians who do not have this spiritual growth don't understand what is going on. They see the results of Satan's attacks on the soul-winners, and they attribute these results to ungodliness on the part of the soul-winner. They don't understand that they, personally, do not undergo these same attacks because they are not spiritual enough to handle them.
Many Godly men, churches, and colleges have "Christian hatesites" dedicated to them. There, Christians who have failed to obey the Great Commission can blast away at the failings of those who are more successful then them.
The result? God keeps blessing His Godly servants, and the critics are bypassed for success.
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