The Greatest Payback

"I'm gonna get him back!"  "He's gonna pay for this."  "I want him to feel the pain he caused me."  These are some of the sayings people may say when they are angry and feel that they were hurt or treated unfairly or unjustly.  Have you ever felt that way?  Sometimes when someone hurt me or when I felt treated unfairly, I whisper under my breath or in my head "They're gonna get it back.  Wait til they see.  Just let them wait."  It could have been a true unfair or unjust situation, but the desire to want to get back at them is not the work of the Holy Spirit.  How do I do?  Because the thought, desire, or feeling does not reflect the fruits of the Spirit.  The twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit are: charity (love), joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity (see Galatians 5:22-23).  So, if my thoughts, feelings, and desires do not reflect those fruits, then, yes, they may be coming from a spirit, but most definitely not the Holy Spirit.

When Joseph saw his brothers again I am sure he was surprised and experienced of a mixture of emotions - from joy to sadness to anger and curiosity.  His brothers wanted to kill him out of jealousy but ended up selling him into slavery in Egypt.  Many years later, Joseph, not a slave, but became second in command in Egypt.  When a famine struck the land, his brothers needed to go to Egypt to ask for rations for grain.  When they approached Joseph, they could not recognize him, but Joseph recognized them.  Instead of paying them back and giving them a taste of what they did to him and scream at them, punish them, or treat them harshly, Joseph was compassionate.  The brothers recalled how they treated Joseph and wondered if what was happening to them was the price to pay.  At this we are told that Joseph turned away and wept.  Later Joseph revealed to them that he was his brother and asked about the family.  Instead of asking how they could have done such a thing to him, he comforted them "Do not be distressed and do not reproach yourselves..." 

Through this suffering years ago, Joseph was then able to help his family.   Joseph saw this as God's plan.  If his brothers had not sold him into Egypt, his family probably wouldn't be able to get any rations for grain.  So, God used what was a messed up, disturbed, and disgraceful situation and used it for the good.  Joseph saw this and understood it.  I am sure Joseph was very grateful and was happy that he could have helped his family with his position.  So, for Joseph, the greatest payback to his brothers for selling him into Egypt was loving them.  In loving them, Joseph challenged his brothers to think about their actions and how good and merciful God is.  In loving them in such a way, Joseph was not enabling his brothers or giving them a way out, but rather inviting them to a deeper relationship with God.  When we are faced with situations where our initial instinct is to fight back, hurt someone, speak profanity, let us turn to the Father and ask Him to give us the strength to not return insult for insult but rather to return love.  When we are able to accept this, love then can truly conquer all things and all evil. 

Father, give me the wisdom to differentiate the fruits of the Holy Spirit from the fruits of a mean spirit.  Grant unto me the grace to love.  Instill within me a spirit that yields to love and the Holy Spirit.  Teach me that the greatest payback is to love because in loving we are inviting others to a deeper and more intimate relationship with You.
Joseph's Brothers Sell Him Into Captivity by Konstantin Flavitsky

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