John Bradshaw - Holding a Grudge
Grudges are a fascinating thing. The Hatfields and McCoys feuded for almost 30 years in the late 1800s and lives were lost as a result of grudges kept. If anyone had a right to hold a grudge, it was Joseph whose brothers were going to kill him before they sold him into slavery. Separated from his family, a stranger in a strange land, surrounded by idolatry, and unjustly imprisoned.
If Joseph had utterly despised his brothers, few people would have faulted him, but after the sons of Jacob showed up in Egypt, and after Joseph had tested them to determine where their hearts really, were he said to them, "It was not you who sent me here but God," Genesis 45:8; which has to be one of the most gracious statements ever uttered. He could have chosen a hatred, he could have held a grudge, but instead he forgave. We can learn from that. I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written.