Joseph was sold out by his brothers at a tender age of seventeen to a foreign country, to a people he did not know and of a different tongue. He crossed from the momentous teenage-hood to adulthood as a slave in Egypt. He did not have the privilege of having his mother or Father near him to run to for encouragement and support. He lost his mother while still a very young boy. His father was his only close friend and confidant and I believe he succeeded in mentoring him. His brothers hated him because he was honest and had big dreams. In a spur-of-the-moment Joseph was out of his father’s tender care. He was not given any opportunity to say goodbye. I believe he screamed his throat hoarse in the pit before he was sold off to slavery in Egypt. His profile and circumstances fit an excellent candidate for depression, suicide, alcohol, crime, sexual perversion, crime and drugs but none of these characterized his life.
We see Joseph as a young man with unquestionable integrity. He was sold off yes but never was a sell out. His moral fiber remained strong and intact. He stood against the seduction of his master’s wife. He didn’t compromise and justify himself by arguing that he deserved some comfort since he was away from home, from people who loved and knew him. Here he was a young man, a slave, far away from his parents and with no one to hold him accountable, yet he refused to commit adultery with his master’s wife. When Photiphar’s wife tried to seduce him he did not sigh in relieve musing that he had finally found someone who could understand, accept and love him. His non-compromising attitude landed him in jail but the sun never sets for the righteous. He again rose from prison to the palace, from a prisoner to a prime minister in Egypt.
Do we really have any reason to excuse our failure because of what we have been through? Let us borrow a leave from this young man and reach out for the high road that leads to success and great influence.
