Today’s exhortation – don’t be naive
The next significant thing in the life study of Joseph is that we have to be careful who we share our dreams with as it may cause them to envious and hateful of us. The bible says, “Joseph had a dream and when he told his brothers, they hated him even more.” (Genesis 37:5). They hated him even more because his dream was bigger than theirs. In his dream, they bowed to him and whatever ill will they felt towards him got worse. Perhaps Joseph was naive in thinking that because they were his brothers they would love him regardless, so he shared another dream with them and the bible says, they hated him even more for his dreams and his words and were jealous of him.
I think a lot of Christians think that because they don’t think evil of anyone, there should be no reason for anyone to hate them, but that’s a naive way of thinking. We’ve to realise that not everyone is like us and will be happy for us. The Lord tells us to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Wisdom also tells us, there’s a time to be silent and a time to speak! (Ecclesiastes 3:7). And the bible also says, “Sensible people foresee trouble and hide. Gullible people go ahead and suffer.” (Proverbs 27:12). Heavenly Father, please enable us to discern who is for us or against us in Jesus Name. Amen!
Francis Hans-Jorie