Joseph: Prophetic Conviction or Plain Stupidity?

As I read the story of Joseph’s dreams, I’m struck by a single thought: “What a twerp!” I don’t think I’d be affirming toward my little brother’s pronouncements of his imminent dominion over me either. Obviously, the kid had a gift. Obviously he heard God right. But the story doesn’t say God told Joseph to share the dream. Maybe Joseph was just a spoiled kid looking to rub his brothers’ noses in how special he was.

Joseph later reflects on it all to his brothers, saying “What you intended for evil, God intended for good.” But I also doubt that Joseph would recommend his course of action to anyone. The prudent way he later approaches his brothers seems to demonstrate a growing wisdom in how to use his gift.

It’s a tough lesson and a theme throughout Genesis: The young are portrayed as people of great conviction bordering on stupidity who are more concerned with being "right" than in seeing the big picture. The old are pictured as prudent, often to the point of compromise in the name of wisdom. Where’s the balance between wisdom and conviction? I suppose the short answer is “Jesus”: uncompromising conviction with wisdom, flexibility and a heart that listens to the Father.

I learn something from young Joseph. Just because I have a spiritual experience doesn’t mean I have to publish it. That’s another level of conversation with the Father: “What do you want me to DO with this?” And that can be hard to discern.

Ultimately though, I think what I learn from Joseph is that God is gracious to us. He’s good at accomplishing His plan in our lives, even through the blunders and missteps. At the end of the day, the Joseph story isn’t about natural consequences for our shortsightedness. It’s about the resilience of God’s plan in our lives even when we blow it, even when we are full of ourselves, even when we suffer the consequences.

That’s why I want to take more risks with my faith. Because even if I sometimes misunderstand God or fail to use common sense in the process, I believe that he loves to use and knows how to redeem even misguided faith. I’d rather not repeat the same mistake twice, but the bigger story is cultivating a personal trust in the God who loves faith, redeems choices, grows us up inside, and is present even in those “natural consequences”. That’s the kind of God I want to fall back on.