Greetings everyone and thanks for joining me for this edition of our Sunday School preview. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “Issues of Love” and is found in Genesis 37:2-11; 23-24; 28.
Today’s lesson deals with an aged old problem of jealousy and envy. People seemed to be born with a need to compare themselves to others to determine their value and worth and self-esteem. And based upon their analysis, they form relationships and attitudes toward others.
This was the case between Jacob’s son Joseph and his other brothers. Jacob favored his son Joseph. Favoritism is something that exist. It is natural and neither good or bad in and of itself. Favoritism usually stems from relationships between people. The people involved have something in common that sets them apart from other relationships.
This is why people will do things for one person and not for another. A problem occurs however when favoritism results in the depletion, removal or denial of something that rightfully belongs to someone else and is given to another or at the expense of another. In some ways it can be compared to a knife. A knife is neither good or bad. It can be used to help someone or to harm someone.
Favoritism, while helping someone, does not have to harm anyone. One the other hand, favoritism, while helping someone can be harming someone else. While Jacob displayed favoritism toward Joseph, there appears to be no harm done to his other sons.
There was nothing taken away from them that was rightfully theirs because of Jacob’s favoritism toward Joseph. Therefore, their jealousy, envy and hostility toward Joseph was based on comparing and evaluating themselves against what they perceived Joseph had that they didn’t.
These same types of comparisons and evaluations have taken place from the beginning and throughout human society and is the root and cause of much evil and suffering. It can be argued that Cain killed his brother Abel because of these same reasons. God favored and respected Abel’s sacrifice and not his. His resulting envy and jealousy lead him to murder his own brother.
Joseph shared his dreams of his family bowing down before him with his family. While Jacob didn’t dismiss the possibility, for Joseph to suggest he would rule over his older brothers only gave them another reason to compare themselves to him and decide to dislike him more.
We must remember that God uses favoritism to advance His plans and to bless those He chooses to favor. As God’s children, we must never behave like Joseph brothers did toward him to anyone, much less those in the household of faith. God can bless whomever He chooses, like He chooses and when He chooses and it is nobody else’s business and especially not ours.
When God chooses to favor us with anything, it’s nobody else’s business either. We must never say or compare what God does for someone else or how God has treated someone else to ourselves. We should always remember that we are not entitled to anything. Joseph’s brothers were not entitled to anything. Anything they or we received from our Father is more than we had and a gift.
Let’s stop comparing our gifts, favors and blessings to that of other and theirs to ours. God has done us no wrong by blessing each of us differently as He sees fit. He has not deprived, denied or taken from us anything that was ours. And doesn’t God have the right to with His own as He chooses?
Well, I hope you will be able to attend SS this coming Sunday and share your thoughts with your class. If you cannot attend your own Sunday School, you are invited to join us online at 9:00 am live and interactive at our website. If you have any comments or questions, be sure to place them in the comment section of this preview. So, until next time remember to fear God and keep His commandments.
Pastor Jordan
