Joseph a walking example of integrity

Integrity is when your public and private self is identical. 

I find that in today’s world there is a constant watering down of the richness in meaning of certain words like love, awesome and integrity.  

As those words become overused, it is very easy to lose the true essence and potency of their meaning.

There is another term that is also actually abused. It is an apology. 

The essence of this term declares a heartfelt sorry for a wrong done. Unfortunately, today, we hear apology after apology after one has been “caught” red-handed in a moral transgression.

Rewards

As we look at the story of Joseph, you will see a true picture of integrity. 

You will meet up with an adult Joseph who changed tremendously and yet had not changed at all.  

Yes, Joseph had all of the trappings and rewards of monetary wealth and position. Joseph stood in need of nothing, yet his integrity was deeper than skin-deep. 

If you could look into the heart of Joseph, you would see that he still longed for the things he had longed for as a teen. 

Joseph wanted a relationship with his brothers. He wanted them to know how much he cared for them and that when the time would come, he would step in and rescue them from death.

Yes, that was the essence of the dreams that Joseph had as a teen. Joseph was going to be there for his brothers when they were in dire straits.

The day finally came. 

Genesis 45:4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.

5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

Look at the spirit of humility and forgiveness demonstrated by Joseph. Joseph got it!  He understood that all things work together for good, for those who love and serve God with all of their heart, mind and strength.

His brothers sold him as a slave, but God secured Joseph as a servant of The Most High God. Hence, Joseph had climbed “the ladder of success” and was in charge of the distribution of food in all of Egypt. 

In other words, life and death were in the power of Joseph’s mouth.

Joseph could keep this family alive or he could refuse them, which would lead to their death. 

Is that not what his youthful dreams were about? It is a very good thing that Joseph was a man of integrity. 

His heart had not changed because of his early years of hardship. Joseph was still Joseph.

Power, position, prestige and prosperity had not caused Joseph to become another person. Wow, integrity!

Look at Joseph. What came out of his mouth? Well, the very same spirit that spoke in his youth and said that he would save his brothers’ lives was going to speak once again.  

This time, the stakes were even higher. His 10 brothers now had family and possessions. Therefore, Joseph’s initial dreams were magnified, as he would “save” more than he had originally dreamed of.

Genesis 45:6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.

7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Turmoil

There was certain death to come upon the homeland of the brothers. Yet, God certainly set up Joseph to be the one who will save his people and keep them alive. Joseph went through the turmoil of hate, being a hostage, a slave and being held in a prison. 

He was then elevated to a place where either he could do the right thing and bless or he could do the permissive thing and curse.

What did Joseph do? 

Joseph followed the integrity of his heart and blessed, in spite of what had taken place in the past. 

Joseph would go down in history as having blessed those who had cursed him. 

Joseph was a walking demonstration of the beauty and bountifulness of godly integrity. RESPICE FINEM