Christian Devotional – October 21, 2018

The favorite tattletale. As we move into the scriptures that start to speak directly about Joseph himself, we see some interesting ideas about what others thought about him. Read Genesis 37: 1-4.

His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.
Genesis 37:4 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/gen.37.4.NASB

At the ripe old age of 17, Joseph is starting to make his way in the world. He has experienced so many things through his mother and father that have shaped his outlook on life and now he is starting to make some of his own decisions. What he chooses, though, doesn’t earn him any friends.

Joseph chose to share the shortcomings of his brothers with his father. This father who knew all about having favorites since he was the favorite son of his mom and he had a favorite wife, now decides to have a favorite son. Between Joseph giving a bad report and his father’s lavish gift of the colored coat, it’s no wonder his brothers didn’t like him.

None of these things mentioned were things he could control. Joseph did what was right in speaking the truth,  but he couldn’t control how his brothers or father responded. When we are looking at our own life, do we recognize what we have control over and what we don’t? Do we waste time being angry or frustrated about things that we don’t have control over? Joseph could control his attitude and how he responded, but the Bible doesn’t give a clear indication of what that would have looked like. We must control our attitudes, regardless of whether we are being hated, like Joseph’s brothers hated him, or being loved, like his father loved him.