#204: The Boy Slave

With the rapidly changing climes in the world and the deliberate effort by the world and its people to push God and people who serve Him to the back seat, one may wonder if it is possible to thrive at the place of work while following God and to excel and stand out among peers. Prov 22:29 gives us a hint that can make this a reality:

Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men
Prov 22:29 (NIV)

Joseph was a person who excelled in his days. The boy slave found his way to the palace, and I can guess that he remained there for the rest of his active life. He was a character who stood out in his generation. We know for sure that Joseph was a very diligent person and in this article, we shall be exploring his life to pick out one or two things that made him excel.

Joseph was the favourite son of his father. Yet he was hated. Since he was born to his dad in old age, he was one of the last children that were born in his family. Joseph’s mother Rachael died when Joseph was still young and that can tell you the challenge he faced while growing up. At seventeen he had begun to tend his father’s flock. He assumed the responsibility and worked for his brothers at this age. The bible doesn’t go into detail to tell us what kind of work he did for the brothers, whether it was a paid job, or the brothers only supervised him while he worked for his father. Yet, we are sure that he was able to tend the flock and work for his brothers. In the same way, it is not too early for any of us to develop skills and exercise them in carrying out responsibilities.

Joseph also had dreams which had much to say about his future, dreams which made his father wonder, and dreams which made his brothers hate him further. I believe that he wasn’t discouraged by the response of the people around to those dreams. Though everyone had some kind of response to the dreams, it didn’t really influence his opinion about the dreams. Oftentimes, some of us may have dreams concerning what our lives would be about either shortly or in the long run. Those dreams may be real dreams, ideas, or some kind of insight or inspiration. You have a responsibility, not to be discouraged by the response people around you may have to those dreams. Your evaluation of any dream should never come from what people around may have to say about them. They didn’t give you those dreams and for this reason, they are not in the best position to actually define how potent or realistic that dream would be. This is one mark of diligence that we see in the life of Joseph: he didn’t shrink at the opinion of people toward his dreams.

We could see in scripture that Jacob sent Joseph to look for his brothers who went to pasture sheep at Shechem. This was the event that turned out to be fateful for him yet there is a lesson in it. Joseph’s reply at his father's command was: “I’m ready to go” (Gen 37:13, NLT). Joseph was ready. Even before he was sold into slavery and found himself in Potiphar’s house, Joseph was always ready. He was ready, he was eager, he was willing, and he was available. This was another mark that made him excel. We must be people who are willing to create space to do whatever duty may come our way wherever we find ourselves. We must be people who do not hesitate to volunteer when we can. We must never be found idle. It doesn’t necessarily depend on the circumstances we find ourselves in. Whether the union is on strike or not, it doesn’t matter so much. There is no room for idleness in nature. Even in the dead of the night, many processes that sustain life take place. The only place that is really idle is the grave. Joseph also went the extra mile. We realize that when he got to Shechem and did not find his brothers there, he moved further to Dothan. Joseph was not only ready, but he was also ready to go the extra mile and I feel that this is one of the things that classify people in any field. How willing and ready are you to go the extra mile to see that a task is completed? This is another mark of diligence: you must always be ready, even to go the extra mile.

The next thing for me to note here is that Joseph was mistreated by people who were supposed to defend him. I suppose that this is the height of abuse. If it was strangers that sold him away, it would have been an easier pain for him to bear. It means that people who excelled were not necessarily alienated from difficulty or challenges. Actually, many of them faced challenges. Hardship or abuse is therefore not a reason for anyone to withdraw from what he or she is doing. If you are careful to consider those instances in which you were faced with difficulty, you would realize that it was not at the point of encountering such a challenge that you withdrew, it was rather when your mind gave up. You might have faced very challenging experiences right from your upbringing, it could be poverty, domestic violence, or abuse. I want to say that it cannot stand in the way of your progress in life, or in whatever you do. Here I present you with another mark of diligence: never limit yourself to the circumstances that you find yourself in.

Joseph found himself in Egypt, and I’m sure it was quite a different environment from what he knew in Canaan. Of course, the people of Canaan were idol worshippers, but the Egyptians were more experienced idol worshippers. Egypt was a more civilized place too. Joseph was bought into the house of Potiphar as a slave and I believe there were other servants in that house, for Potiphar was an officer of the Pharaoh. Yet, Joseph excelled in his house. While the other characteristics which I have earlier pointed out were responsible for his success there is one that I need to note: The LORD was with him. There is no extent to which I can emphasize this point. I note here again that this article is for the consumption of those who know and are known of the LORD. The challenge at times is not that we don’t know that God is real, it is that we don’t know that He is also ever-present in those things we do daily. We tend to know little that the LORD is very interested in the secular jobs we are doing. We tend to forget that He owns the earth and its fullness, and that doesn’t exclude the jobs we do. We tend to forget that he laid the foundations of all that exists and would ever exist. We often talk about the LORD in church alone and hence we are mindful of Him only when we are in church. Of course, if we don’t allow him to be in the activities that go on in our place of work, he would only remain in the church where we have kept Him. The LORD was with Joseph, even in Potiphar’s house. In the least of places that you would expect the LORD to be, He was. We must therefore never eject the LORD from our mind no matter where we go or what we do. Joseph was mindful of the LORD. Another mark of diligence to note here: be mindful of the LORD’s presence in all that you do.

Another secret in the life of Joseph is that he feared the LORD. Joseph had a strong commitment to fear the LORD. He feared God not only in the words of his mouth or in the praises of his lips. He feared God in his actions, both in secret and under pressure. If we would also excel, then we must have a culture of honouring the LORD in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, not just in our words, but in our actions. We must fear the LORD both in secret and in the open. For God would only honour those that honour Him. This is one of the greatest marks of diligence and it separates us from the rest of the world. The fear that this boy slave had for God landed him in jail even without a trial and we all know that this was not the end of the story.

Finally, a mark of diligence that Joseph had which I think is very important in our days and local environment is patience. Joseph was patient. He was taken out of his father’s comfort when he was 17. He didn’t appear before Pharaoh until he was 30. It was 13 years of being a slave. It took him 13 years before he became a freeman. Though the LORD was with him and made him find favour at every step of the way, he had to, again and again, exercise patience, forbearance and forgiveness. He was always of good cheer. The bible didn’t tell us he cursed his brothers or anyone in Potiphar’s house. When he had a chance to speak on this, he could only say:

And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.

Gen 45:5-6 (NIV)

We also ought to be patient and of good cheer, whatever circumstance we find ourselves in.

I have briefly considered the life of Joseph. There is much to learn in his story, and if we are patient to glean, we would see the applications in our world today.

Shalom 💗

Written by Chibuikem Okeke