More Dirty Laundry?!

"As Tamar was brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law, "I am pregnant by the man who owns these," she said.  And she added, "See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are."
Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah!"  Genesis 38:25-26

More Dirty Laundry!?
By Rev. William Dohle

Pressed to each and every one of our faces lies what could only be called a mask.  It is the mask of our public self.  This mask we wear every day we step out in public.  It has what we want others to know about us written on it.  The face we wish to portray to the world.

"I am kind," it says to the world.  "And considerate, and modest.  I am capable and reliable.  I am a confident person and I can take care of myself.  I have no problems."

But hidden, deep under that mask, lies a person scarred by life.  Hidden under that false front lies the hurt and betrayal, past mistakes, broken relationships, and unfulfilled dreams we call carry.  Under that mask may lie some abuse and neglect, guilt and shame.  Things we wish we hadn't said or done.  Things we wish we could do over.  Avoided in public, these things still have a place in our life, even if it is only in our past.

Sometimes, despite our best intentions, that private person shows his face through the mask we try to keep up.  Our mistakes become public.  And the stench from our private dirty laundry, the things we wish to avoid, overwhelms the public perfume we have put on.

At such times we may think we are a hopeless failure.  We have failed and fallen further than anyone.  Further than even God cares to venture.  Often when that happens we pull away from life, from family, even from the church because, after all, nobody has the problems or has made the mistakes that we have, right?

If you find yourself in such a position, take heart!  God understands.

You see, God is use to the dirty laundry of his people.  He's use to mistakes and stupid decisions.  He's use to things not going right.

In fact, he's known to work through those very things.  Take the story of Tamar for example.  Now here's a piece of Judah's dirty laundry if there ever was one.

The story is kinda complicated.  Tamar's husband dies and, per the custom of the land, she is to be wed then to one of her brother-in-laws in order to produce a child to be deemed his.  Unfortunately, things don't go right for poor Tamar.  Two brothers die on her and the third brother is too young to be wed.  Frustrated, Tamar agrees to wait until Judah, her father-in-law, figures something out.  Only, Judah doesn't really care about Tamar too much so Tamar is forced to take matters into her own hand.  She tricks Judah into getting her pregnant and giving her a seal as a pledge of his faithfulness.  Then, when Tamar is brought forth under adultery charges, she shows Judah the pledge and is granted life.

Follow it?  No?  Well, that's dirty laundry for you!

The short of it, though, is that, despite all this dirty laundry, Tamar becomes the great-great-great-great grandmother of David and thus the distant ancestor of Jesus Christ himself!  Tamar!  The woman who tricked Judah!  Tamar is the ancestor of the Messiah!  For out of Tamar and Judah come Perez and from Perez, way down the line, is born David and ultimately Jesus Christ!

You see, God used Tamar's trickery and cunning.  He used this mistake of the patriarch to change the world.  Without Tamar and without this piece of dirty laundry, the Messiah himself would not have been born.  We wouldn't be where we are today.  It was because of her brashness to take matters into her own hands that we have David and Jesus Christ!  Maybe that's why Judah calls her righteous.  "She is more righteous than I!"

If God can use this event to alter the course of human history, He can use your dirty laundry to change lives too!  Paul reminds us: "We know that in all things God work for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Rom. 8:28).  God can use you for good, just as you are.  Stinky laundry and all.  There is no event He can't work through.  There is no mistake that is past erasing.  There is no hurt that is beyond healing.

And through those hurts and pains and mistakes, God is able through you to touch others who have going through the same things you are going through.  Through those mistakes, God is able to make some good come out of things.  Maybe not even in our lifetime or in our children's lifetime.  But in God's time.   

God of Tamar, make us bold in living and confident in your grace.  Take our dirty laundry and use it for good that others might come to know and trust in you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

The Right Thing

When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands.  "Let's not take his life," he said.  "Don't shed any blood.  Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him."  Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father."  Genesis 37:21

The Right Thing
By Rev. William Dohle

Why is it that the right thing is always the hard thing in any situation??

In school, NOT cheating on a test can get you shunned by your friends.  Cheating is much easier in this case to live with.

Growing up, NOT going along with the crowd is hard.  It can get you made fun of, picked on, and bullied.  Going along with the crowd is much easier.

As an adult, there are innumerable examples of this.  Passing by someone in need is much easier than taking the time to find out what's wrong.  Sitting at home is easier than stepping out to help in faith.  Saying nothing is easier than saying something.  Ignoring others is easier than addressing and greeting the people around you.

In every case, the Right Thing is the Hardest Thing to do!

In the Bible, Reuben, son of Jacob, brother of Joseph, experienced the same thing.  After Joseph's jealous brothers conspire to kill him, Reuben, the oldest, offers this suggestion.  "Don't shed any blood.  Throw him into the cistern, here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him."  Scripture says he said this to rescue Joseph from them and bring him back to his father.

It might not seem like much, but it saved Joseph's life.  The brothers did not kill him.  Instead, they took him and threw him into the cistern.

Unfortunately Reuben wasn't around when his brothers also agreed to sell Joseph to the Midianite merchants.  "When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes and said, 'The boy isn't there!  Where can I turn now?'"(Gen. 37:29-30).

Reuben tried to do the right thing...though it didn't turn out right all at once.  Joseph was not immediately returned to his father.  Many more things would happen to this son of Jacob before he was reunited to his father.  But Reuben's actions did have some effect.  In the end, God used Reuben's crazy idea to save Joseph's life.

Our actions can take the same trajectory as Reuben's did.  We can do things that seem meaningless in our view.  Difficult as they can be, they may seem pointless at times.  A smile to the cashier at the store.  A kind word to a stranger.  A card sent to a loved one for a birthday.  What can such a small thing to do?  Wouldn't it be simpler to do the easy thing?

But the easy thing isn't the right thing and, despite its difficulty, we are called to do the right thing.  We may not know the effect our actions have upon the world, but we must trust that God, who works all things for good, will work with what we do fulfill his purpose in the World.

God give me strength that I may do the right thing, no matter how difficult it may be.  Amen.

Envy's Cost

"When Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him."  Genesis 37:4


Envy's Cost
By Rev. William Dohle

Thumbing through the channels the other day, I caught the most curious(and disturbing) conversation.  A woman was on some talk show and asked the experts a question.  She said:

"I am so envious of my girlfriends, with their husbands and their children, and me, childless and single.  Is it normal to feel this way?"

Now, I know the "expert" isn't a theologian, but her words disturbed me nevertheless.  She said...

"Of course it's normal.  Everyone feels envious of someone else..."

Those words shook me.  Normal??  Really?  Envy is normal??  I know that everyone feels that way sometime in their life, but I don't think I would call envy normal.  Dangerous, maybe.  Sinful, definately.  But normal??  I don't think so.

Envy is the entry point for so many other sins.  The story of Joseph in Genesis reminds us of that!

The story begins with Joseph, the favorite son, receiving a "richly ornamented robe" made especially by his father.  Boy, isn't he special.

It continues, just two verses later, with Joseph sharing his dreams with his brothers.  In one dream, Joseph's sheaf rose and stood upright and his brothers' sheaves gathered around and bowed to it.  In another dream, the sun, moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to Joseph.

Of course Joseph could have kept these dreams to himself.  He could have kept his mouth shut about what God had revealed to him.  He could have tried to fit in.

But he's Joseph, the spoiled youngest son!  So... he starts rattling on...and on...and on!

And what happens next is pretty predictable: his brothers get jealous.  That is the natural progression of envy, after all.  First comes envy...then comes jealously.  Joseph's brothers get jealous the first time because of the robe.  "When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to them." (v. 4).  Then, after his first dream.  "...they hated him all the more."(v. 7)  And then after his second dream.  "...and they hated him all the more."(v. 8).  In fact, as if to emphasize the point, the text says: "His brothers were jealous of him."


Notice the progression??  Envy...leads to jealousy...leads to hatred!  Needless to say, envy had grown lush and full in their hearts!


And what does this envy lead to??  Violence!  That's where!  In a terrible turnabout, Joseph's brothers throw him into a cistern and then sell him to some slavers!


Satisfied at last that their envy is resolved, the brothers return to their father with the bloodied robe and the story of Joseph's death.

That's why envy is dangerous...not normal!

We all feel envy.   We're envious of our neighbors, of the vacation our friends are taking, or the success their children have found in life.  We are envious of another's new car or the kindness that they have received that we have not.  But we shouldn't give that envy room to grow in our hearts.  Like a noxious weed in our lives, envy needs to be pulled.  It cannot do you any good.  It will lead you only to hatred, isolation, loneliness, and bitterness of heart.  It is not loving!  Paul tells us "love is not envious."  Envy and love cannot live together in our hearts.  Compassion must take its place!

May God turn our eyes from our neighbor's possessions to the blessings He has already given us that we might not be envious but thankful for what we do have in life.  May we respond to them, not in hatred and envy, but with compassion and love.

Blessed are you, Lord God, King of the Universe!  You have blessed us beyond measure.  Empty our hearts of envy and fill our hearts with thankfulness, for Jesus sake.  Amen.