“When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”
Joseph was bullied, human trafficked by his brothers, forced into slavery, falsely accused of attempted rape, and wrongly imprisoned.
He had a trauma filled past, and his present wasn’t much better… yet he cared enough about other people to observe that some prisoners were dejected and ask what was wrong.
That question launched Josephs ascension from “inmate” - to “Egyptian royalty” …His unselfishness set into motion a plan that would deliver him from prison - and place him in a position of power.
Had Joseph been busy with self-pity he may not have noticed or cared that the other men were despondent. Had he been consumed by the unfairness of his situation he would have been unaware of their suffering.
In our culture we are taught to be self-centered. Society enables and encourages us to be hypersensitive to the slightest offense. It has become normal for us to be so self-engrossed that we believe we must be protected from any perceived insult.
We are bombarded by the mantra that we must love ourselves, express ourselves, be ourselves without reservation….And yet the bible says to die to our self.
That is quite a contrast…
The contrast is created by who sits on the throne of your life. If you are on the throne – then all the self-absorbed foolishness makes perfect sense. But if God is on the throne of your life - you will be so consumed by His glory there will be little time to worry about yourself.
As a child of God your value has been established. His unimaginable love for you will so solidly define your self-image, that it will be anything but fragile.
The world tells you to be self-focused which is depressing. But if you choose instead to be God-focused He will bring stability, and contentment to your life.
So, you have two choices…One leads to a shallow, self-centered existence while the other leads to a life full of love and usefulness…
Selfishness seldom makes you content or effective, while selflessness seldom fails to do both….you choose.
“God creates out of nothing. Therefore, until a man is nothing, God can make nothing out of him.” - Martin Luther
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