A great deal of bitterness saturates the world today. It has funneled down into our communities, the places we work or go to school, our families, and even the church. Thankfully, we find a good role model in the Scriptures who modeled how to deal with bitterness.
Somewhere around 2000 B.C., a young man began to encounter choices that eventually dictated the trajectory of his life. Joseph’s family was filled with jealousy, hatred, and bitterness (Genesis 37:4-5, 8, 11). Perhaps Joseph exasperated the situation by telling his brothers about his dreams (Genesis 37:9-11). Whatever the case, Joseph’s brothers grew bitter together and conspired against him (Genesis 37:18-19). They cast Joseph into a pit (Genesis 37:24) where he remained while his brothers plotted his demise (Genesis 37:25-26). When the opportunity presented itself, they sold him to Midianite traders, and Joseph was taken to Egypt and sold into slavery.
Choosing to Be Better, Not Bitter
Joseph’s experience was distressful (Genesis 42:21; Psalm 105:17-19) to put it mildly. This kind of trauma often leads to bitterness. Rather than becoming bitter, Joseph developed into a better person. How?
Focus on work. Joseph focused on his work. Work is good with a broad range of psychological and spiritual benefits (Genesis 2:15). Joseph poured himself into his work, even though he was a slave (Genesis 39:2-6). Hard work allowed little time to ruminate upon the hurts of the past.
Focus on others. Though faithful to his work and his master Potiphar, Joseph soon encountered difficulty when Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him of attempted rape when he refused her sexual advances. As a result, Joseph was imprisoned (Genesis 39:7-20). Again, Joseph chose to be better, not bitter, and was a good worker (Genesis 39:21-23). He was also keenly aware of the wellbeing of others (Genesis 40:1-7), noticing their difficulties and trying to help them.
Focus on the Lord. Throughout this narrative, the Lord was with Joseph (Genesis 39:2-3, 21, 23). We must conclude Joseph was dwelling upon God’s truth and talking to the Lord. Joseph had yet another opportunity to become bitter after being forgotten in prison by the butler he helped (Genesis 40:23). Joseph must have grown and overcome this slight, because when he stood before Pharaoh, he noted it was God (Genesis 41:16) who provided the answer to Pharoah’s dream.
Behave wisely, not vindictively. As famine raged in Egypt, Joseph had opportunity to exact revenge upon his brothers. Instead, he tested them. The binding of Simeon (Genesis 42:24) was likely a test to see if his brothers were the same people who bound him decades earlier. And when Judah made his great speech and asked to take the place of his brother Benjamin (Genesis 44:33-34), Joseph knew the men before him had grown into better men than the bitter brothers he had known before. At that moment, he could no longer contain himself (Genesis 45:1).
Forgive and live. Joseph’s revelation to his brothers made it clear he had forgiven them (Genesis 45:3-5). Years later, he echoed verse 5 after his father’s death (Genesis 50:20). Somewhere along the way, Joseph left justice to the Lord (Genesis 50:19) and chose to forgive the brothers who hurt him. This made it possible to live and grow into the person God wanted him to be.
Each day, we choose to be bitter or better with the people in our lives. This choice may impact where many reside for all of eternity. Let us be better—not bitter—together.
