Momentum: How To Ignite Your FaithSample

VICTIM OR VICTOR? Joe Stack, at the age of fifty-three, set his house on fire. Then he got in a single-engine plane and flew into an IRS building in Austin with nearly two hundred employees, killing one man. He believed he was the victim of unfair tax codes, unjust laws, corrupt politicians, and dishonest accountants. His disillusionment culminated in one final act of desperate revenge. How does a person get there? How does someone become so consumed by rage, controlled by hate? This story is extreme, but it demonstrates the power of anger and resentment and unforgiveness. What a stark contrast between Joe Stack and Joseph. Rather than seeking revenge, Joseph chooses to bless those who wronged him. The recipients of Joseph’s blessing were none other than his own brothers who sold him into slavery. Imagine this scene. Joseph is now prime minister and there is a famine in Egypt. His brothers show up looking for food. Joseph immediately recognizes them, but they don’t recognize him. Pause for a moment. What would you have done if you had been Joseph? This could have been the moment for crushing revenge. He was second-in-command to the Pharaoh himself. Joseph could have had his brothers executed on the spot. At first Joseph didn’t reveal his true identity. But eventually he could no longer control his emotions. So he revealed that he was their younger brother. By this point, he was sobbing like a baby. “And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you” (Genesis 45:5). Joseph did not play the victim card. He did not serve up a bowl of steaming guilt and blame. God had long ago removed the poison of unforgiveness. Joseph was gracious, tender, redemptive, and generous toward his brothers. Joseph not only refused to retaliate, but he blessed his brothers. He said, “Come down to me; don’t delay. You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me… I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come” (Genesis 45:9–11). WHAT ABOUT YOU? Will you put the love of God on display by showing love instead of hate, and blessing instead of bitterness? Today’s Takeaway You are never more like Jesus than when you bless those who have hurt you.