tied together, and he was forced to walk for hundreds of miles staring at the back end of a camel. Behind him was a family where he was the favored son, a home of some wealth … and his future?
The auction was loud, though he only understood some of it – the important part, he was being sold. Quickly he was learning the language of his captors, and so he understood some of what his new owner, his boss, said. He was to work in the house as a house slave.
The work was hard, but rapidly he figured out his duties, and excelled at them. He didn’t complain as the other slaves often did. They cried about the injustice of enslavement, or their duties, or their lives in general. He was silent.
Soon his owner noticed that he surpassed the other slaves and began to give him more and more responsibility. The other slaves complained about this as well. He quietly went about his business, doing his best.
Before long his owner had placed him in charge of all the other slaves, making him second-in-command to only the owner himself. He was able to call the shots. The slave was at the top of ladder, if slaves have ladders.
Until.
Until the owner’s wife noticed that he was a handsome man, a man even her husband respected. “Come lie with me,” she whispered. “He’ll never know.”
“I can’t do a thing like that. He has trusted me with all that he has.”
She pulled him toward her bed. He scrambled back. In desperation he skinned out of his cloak to get away from her grasp.
“Help! The slave has tried to rape me.” Her eyes held no remorse as she said it. Her hand held his cloak as evidence.
Stripped and cowering, they pulled him out of his hiding place. His hands were tied behind him and he was forced to walk the long road into a darkened prison. Behind him was a position as the favorite slave, power and authority … and his future?
The prison was loud, but he was only aware of one thing – he was a prisoner. Whips bit his skin and fists cuffed his head. Fear lurked in the dark shadows.
The work was hard, but rapidly he figured out his duties, and excelled at them. He didn’t complain as the other prisoners often did. They cried about the injustice of imprisonment, or their duties, or their lives in general. He was silent.
Soon his jailer noticed that he surpassed the other prisoners and began to give him more and more responsibility. The other slaves complained about this as well. He quietly went about his business, doing his best.
Before long his jailer had placed him in charge of all the other prisoners, making him second-in-command to only the jailer himself. He was able to call the shots. The prisoner was again at the top of ladder, if prisoners have ladders.
Joseph was a slave and prisoner, but in both of those roles he was also a worker. You may have had a job at some time where you felt like either a slave or prisoner. It may be the one you’re working now.
How was it that Joseph, no matter where he was, rose to the top? We can’t say luck, since anyone with luck wouldn’t end up a slave or prisoner. So, what was it? What special something did he have?
In the story, as it’s told in Genesis, there is a phrase that is repeated several times, “And the Lord was with him.” That was his secret. God went with Joseph, to the house of Potipher and even to prison. “Okay,” you might be thinking, “I’m a Christian. God’s with me in my job, right?”
The answer isn’t a simple yes or no. If you are Christian, then yes, we have a promise that God’s Spirit lives within us. However, is he truly “with us”? Jesus said that if we abide (live, dwell, stay) in him, then he will abide in us. Are you abiding in him?
Sometimes in the evening my wife and I will be upstairs reading or doing some work, and I will realize that I don’t know if my sons are even home. They often spend time hanging out in the basement. Since both of them drive, they come and go much more often than when they were younger, so if I don’t hear them I’m not sure. We live in the same house, but I’m not always “with” them.
The Holy Spirit lives in us, but if we are not with him, then he is not with us. In the American church being with God is often seen as something that happens on Sunday at a church service. If we don’t take God, consciously, with us to work, then he won’t be there, at least not in a way that will impact what we do.
In Hebrew, the native language of Joseph, is found the word Avodah. This is the Hebrew word for work. Interestingly, the word also means worship. For Joseph his work was his worship. If he was filling the wine glasses of Potipher, it was worship of God. If he was emptying latrines in a dank, dark prison, it was worship of God.
The New Testament says it this way, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17) Is this your mantra as your inbox rises faster than your outbox? Is this your cry as your boss takes credit for yet another of your ideas?
Neither Potipher nor the prison keeper chose Joseph just because they liked him, because he was charming and a nice guy. They chose him because they saw something different in the way he worked. His work was worship of his God.
Is your work your worship? That is a sure way to make sure God is with you when you are at work. It doesn’t mean you’ll get the promotion or that raise you’ve been hoping for, but it does mean he’ll be right there with you. Joseph’s promotions always went down – way down – before he went up, but he didn’t seem to mind.
God was with him. You see, Joseph knew his job wasn’t really about him, it was about God. When your work is your worship, your career is about bringing glory to the divine creator of the universe. Now that’s a job you can get excited about.
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