Genesis 37-45
In the
jungle, where lions and tigers and bears rival for the kingdom—scratching and
biting and scheming against heaven— if we seek to find the disease that infects
and distracts, the microscope magnifies the throne.
The throne reeks of riches, the
beloved bacteria thriving in our blood, the cancer metastasizing to the four
corners of the earth. The throne illuminates in the jungle and burns the ghetto
with its toxic rays. It smells like honey, but, if you touch it, it burns.
The love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Ti. 6:10) It is the road to perdition
which destroys spiritual fruit that creates a better society. We are dying in
the jungle because our hope is in money, not in the power of God.
The lion rules in the jungle, on its
glistening throne, appointing and disapproving, while setting the standards,
calling the shots, and admonishing poverty. If everything goes according to
plan, the rich prevail and the poor are simply forgotten, but the love of God
has taught us different. Though the son, whose sacrifice expressed the greatest
love, is so easily rejected for fear and hatred, but has the intention to bless
abundantly, he is the model for service and humility. There is much to be said
about the Apostles and the three thousand converted souls in one community
acknowledged in the book of Acts. Acts 2:44 says that all that believed were
together and had all things common. They sold their possessions and goods and
gave to every man as he needed. There was a sense of responsibility for each
other that escaped the exonerative world. The lion would have watched the
tigers and bears hustle their way up the ladder of success while sneering at
the ones who achieved the least; daunting the poor, but the community of
ferocious beings who are forgotten used their power for good to establish their
own kingdom despite their lack of monetary wealth.
Unfortunately and deviously, the
African American communities have suffered the consequences and my concern is
for the Black men, its back bone. The unruly fact concerning Black men is that,
according to the Justice Policy Institute, 791,600 Black men are behind bars
compared to 603,032 of Black men enrolled in college. The Justice Department
figures relate 50% of Black men in jail to violent crimes and the other 20% are
related to drug crimes. Meanwhile, government spending clearly conveyed its
priorities as it decreased the Higher Education budget to $10.7 billion and
increased the budget for correction facilities to $20 billion which is a 166%
increase from 1980 to 2000 compared to the 24% increase for Higher Education.
(“Cell Blocks or Classrooms? The Funding of Higher Education and Corrections
and its Impact on African American men.”) These statistics expose how education
has suffered as a result to the government taking more interest in putting
Black men behind bars as opposed to desk chairs.
Though my concern is for the Black
men, my advice is to the community: aspire to be the best you can be, and use
the difficult times to create better moments together. These statistics are
heart breaking and alarming. I understand the daunting is overwhelming for the
young brothers and it sometimes compels them to react in a crazy way, but there
is something that has to be done about the issue and we can’t wait for the
government to fix this problem. Before the prison boom, Black men in college
outnumbered Black men behind bars. I suppose this was during the time when
Black people stood together on a common ground for justice and freedom. The
moment we became complacent, our Black men became the target of injustice just
as they were when much more than the recorded 4,000 Black men were lynched for
petty crimes during the beginning of the twentieth century. Despite statistics
there is something about a Black man that I find confidence in. He is the soul
of the community, and so much more.
A Black man is a jewel, something
rare, not ordinary and such a beautiful creature.
More than often, he is looked at as a threat
because we tend to miss the best part of him that seeks to be understood. And
why not understand these men? Not one of them is the same as another. There are
many shades to accommodate a woman’s desire. Some wish to be doctors, lawyers,
philosophers, athletes and teachers. Not all of them hold narcotics in their
back pockets while standing on the block lurking aimlessly. This is only a
stereotype, and while some Black men, and not only Black men, do occupy street
corners, others posture themselves in desk chairs eager to learn and achieve
something.
While I persuade you that Black men
are more than how they are perceived, I must also inform you about their
strengths. If you look into the eyes of most Black men, more than likely they
carry stories. These stories give them a sort of passion, yet make them
uncertain toward life. They have a passion to survive and overcome adversity,
and at the same time, they wonder if survival is possible. The strength is in
his mind. The epiphany that this man must receive is that there are no
handicaps besides a despondent heart. His passion certainly travels far beyond
his stereotype. There is some goal much more powerful than the security of
riches-- there is a yearning for a peace in identity.
The key ingredient this man must carry
in his essence is hope. He must be both determined and confident enough to be
more than what the world calls him both publicly and behind closed doors; then,
he can be whatever his heart and mind desires. The former character of this man;
broken down, bruised, and despised for his strength, must lose to the new man
of endless possibilities, victory, and peace with the comfort of the Holy
Spirit. No matter what class he represents in this jungle called life, there is
no one, but himself, who can hold him back.
There is only one thing more valuable
than platinum chains, diamonds, and other precious stones. Favor is your
spiritual visa, with platinum benefits—it has no limit and it’s accepted
everywhere. Whatever you need is God’s pleasure to provide. Favor is special
gifts glued to your fingertips. On a rainy day, favor is the rainbow dipped
into a pot of gold. For a prosperous life, God’s favor is the ice that
illuminates your neck and strengthens your confidence. There is no challenge or
disappointment great enough to keep you from your destiny when God rules your
heart. Alone, you wither as a branch cast into an abandoned field, but
accompanied with God’s grace and power, you flourish as the green grass under
the morning sun. (2 Corinthians 6:1)
If Joseph could speak, his wisdom
would say that a set back is God’s mysterious way of setting a stage for his
grace. Sure, God could devise a more delicate journey to our blessing, but the
rough path better presents his glory. Capital is a universal burden that drains
the life out of billions of people every day. The paper chase dares to
challenge God for his seat in heavenly places, but, no match for God, dollar
bills slip through fingertips and confound the people—who will you trust now?
Joseph was a man to whom God gave
dreams and visions. He was a shepherd at the age of seventeen, but he knew,
regardless of where he came from, he would be mighty and blessed one day.
Stapled to the vision, there was no road map suggesting the route he should have
taken. Thrilled about God’s promises to him, he shared his dreams with his
family, but envy blinded their eyes and shoved hatred down his brother’s
hearts. They sought to kill him out of jealousy, but not before God had done
what he promised. Instead, they sold him to the Ishmaelites. The jealousy and
acts of hatred were all Satan’s way of intervening. Joseph’s circumstances
looked bad, but God was not finished with him. What looked like harmful
intervention was only disguising God’s true intentions.
Joseph’s reactions to hurt and
disappointments are what make him a worthy candidate to represent the shape of
a brother’s perseverance. If you live long enough, you will become accustomed
to disappointments. Disappointments are as likely as the clouds in the sky, but
you can’t necessarily expect rain because of a clouds form. Perhaps it will
profit you to hope for a beautiful day instead of counting the day a loss. If
it rains, who is to say that the sun won’t shine tomorrow? Like Joseph, the
community’s lack of support can seem like a stumbling block. You may have been
lied on and set up for failure, or when you take a step forward you soon take
three steps back. Regardless of his circumstances, Joseph remained positive
because he remembered what God promised him.
By appearance, the universe may not
look as though it stretches for light years, but the truth is that it is bigger
than we realize, and so is God’s plan for us. When Joseph was sold to the
Ishmaelites by his brothers, he couldn’t have guessed that he would have become
Potiphar’s attendant. And just when God’s favor became evident, Joseph took a
step back. Potiphar’s wife asked Joseph to sleep with her and when he chose not
to sin against God or betray his boss, she lied on him and accused him of trying
to sleep with her. Her husband’s reaction was to throw Joseph in jail. Joseph
was innocent, yet God let him go to prison, but not without a plan. In prison,
Joseph met a cupbearer who had a dream that he could not understand, but Joseph
was able to interpret the dream, which eventually proved to be true. When the
cupbearer retrieved his job with the Pharaoh, Pharaoh had a dream that no one
could interpret. The cupbearer remembered Joseph and referred him to the
Pharaoh.
The Pharaoh’s dream was so important
because it foretold God’s plans for the land of Egypt.
God had planned to give Egypt
seven years of great abundance and seven years of severe famine to follow.
Joseph, with God’s wisdom, advised the Pharaoh to appoint someone to take
provision over the land for the seven abundant years. This man would take a
fifth of the harvest and collect all the food and store up the grains under
supervision. The food was reserved for the famine that followed the seven
abundant years. This was going to be a trying time for Egypt and the
people who depended on its wealth. The Pharaoh was so pleased with Joseph’s
favor and interpretation that he put him in charge of the whole land. No one
could “lift a hand or foot in Egypt”
without Joseph’s permission. The Pharaoh handed over to Joseph his signet ring
which signified authority, dressed him in robes of fine linen which represented
majesty, and put a gold chain around his neck which gave him confidence. Joseph
was the most favored upon the land. Though he began herding sheep in his
father’s soil, he became a shepherd over the whole land of Egypt,
guiding and protecting his community.
Meanwhile, Joseph’s brothers, the ones
who despised him for his calling and swore to dispose of his blessing, suffered
in Canaan because of the famine and traveled to Egypt because they heard there was
food there. At this moment, Joseph’s dream was manifested. Joseph’s brothers
had indeed bowed down to him. His brother’s could not return home without grain
or they would surely die. It took Joseph a while to reveal himself to his
brothers and when he did he commanded them: “Load your animals and return to
the land of Canaan, and bring your father and your
families back to me.” Joseph rewarded their hatred with love and recognized
God’s plan to do something greater for his family. He understood that what his
brothers did to him was divine destiny that would preserve their lives.
Now, it becomes evident that the paper
chase is no longer relevant. Death and hatred is no longer relevant. The
illegal ownership and distribution of a being’s sex in every sense is no longer
relevant. Taking that, which is not yours, is no longer relevant. All of these
examples are irrelevant because of the passion you have in your heart. The
passion can’t be the money, because money is temporary gain and glory. The
passion is what you dream about when you carry out your daily routine. It is
what makes you smile when you are smothered in chaos. It is what you secretly
pray for on your knees during your evening prayer. The only reason some
brothers continue to hustle on street corners or sleep in jail cells is because
they pray, but they don’t believe. Some believe, but refuse to repent, and
others repent, but the disappointments cause them to lose sight of their
promise and lose their faith. The secret about disappointments is that we have
no knowledge of God’s perfect will for our lives, so we create our own
assumptions which conflict with God’s will. What is wonderful about God’s will
is that it is the best will. On the other hand, we tremble at God’s will
because we, like Joseph, do not understand the journey. Along the journey we
meet tears we never expected, shame from defeat, and the fear of uncertainty,
but like Joseph, we need to focus on the favor we have as we go through it and
hope in the glory we will receive in the blessing. The blessing is for more
than just yourself, it is about your community.
By the grace of God, there is a
plethora of men in God’s word that exemplify the characters that we should both
embrace and shake off. It is my desire to expound on the character of a man
that stands firm in faith, recognizes his vision, transforms his mind, and
reaches the ultimate success. First, this man must eliminate fear.
