It has been said that suffering isn't as challenging to character as success. I'm not sure if that is true but it definitely can be challenging. We see people like David in the Bible whose character was flawless until he became king. We have heard stories of successful people doing terrible things when they didn't need to. I have heard of many churches working through hard times and then when things become "successful" they implode. What is this? There does seem to be something that can happen when things go well and it isn't always good.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons Joseph tells his brothers not to argue on the way back to Egypt. The fear of things going wrong was over. Yes, there was the difficulty of having to tell their dad eventually, that they were the ones who did him wrong, but as Joseph put it God worked it all out. Things were going to be good. Life was going to be better than good. What could go wrong? Well perhaps, Joseph for one thought that they might turn on one another since they no longer had to stand together to protect Benjamin. I'm not sure but it could be.
Where does this leave us? Just a reminder that when things turn to the good, it doesn't mean you need to let down the guard on your character. It might mean you need to guard your heart even more.
Photo by Ian Stauffer on Unsplash
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