You Can’t Keep A Good Man Down (Summer Of 2002)

YOU CANNOT KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN

Text: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

"Ida Eisenhower, mother of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, was asked in an interview if she was proud of her son. She answered, "Yes, I am very proud. Which son?" (Robert H. Spain. How To Stay alive As Long As You Live. Nashville: Dimensions For Living, 1992, p. 29). Based upon her answer to that question, we can conclude that Ida Eisenhower, it seems, loved all of her sons equally. She had six sons in all. Dwight was her third son.

Jacob was the father of twelve sons. He loved them all, but he favored his son Joseph. "Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors. And his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren; and they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren: and they hated him yet the more" (Genesis 37:3-5 ASV). It is obvious that Jacob's favoring his son Joseph among all the other sons caused them to be jealous of Joseph. Perhaps they felt like they never measured up. Nevertheless, it caused friction among the other sons and how they treated Joseph.

Joseph's brothers conspired together against him to get him out of the picture. One brother wanted to kill him. Another brother came up with another idea. Eventually, they agreed to sell their brother into slavery. Joseph took this obstacle and turned it into an opportunity. He had every reason to be bitter and resentful. His attitude made all the difference.

BETRAYAL

We are our brother's keeper (Genesis 4:9). After Cain had killed his brother Abel and God asked what happened to Abel, Cain asked, "Am I my brother's keeper?" A keeper in this context is a watchman or a guard. Cain's question implies ignorance. Even though Cain did not openly confess to God he could not hide his sin any better than his parents who tried to hide from God after they had messed with the forbidden fruit.

There is a degree to which we are the keepers of our brothers and sisters whether they siblings by blood or siblings in the Body of Christ because they are our neighbors. Jesus tells us that we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves which makes us our brother's keepers.

A traitor is one who betrays a brother. Joseph's brothers were supposed to be his keepers and yet they betrayed him. They were not concerned with what was going to happen to him after they sold him as a slave. They just wanted him out of the picture. Clovis G. Chappel once said, "You are responsible for the life that you live and for its influence upon those that you touch. … You can be just as cruel in your selfish neglect as Cain was in his deadly blow". (Clovis G. Chappell. The Village Tragedy. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1925, p. 76). No one can argue that although Joseph's brothers did not kill him as did Cain Abel, they were irresponsible as "keepers" and neglectful as brothers all because of their jealousy. We do not have to throw a brother or a sister in a ditch, sell them into slavery, takes sides with another against him or her or kill them to fail as "keepers of our brothers and sisters" when it comes to betrayal. We can betray a brother or a sister by being unfaithful by failing to live a life that is a good influence which might cause another to stumble.

HONOR

One of the qualities that we associate with honor is nobility. By nobility, I do not mean "high society" or "royalty". I am referring to nobility as morality and values. There are times when we misplace our values. Sometimes we misplace and displace the value of things. I read the story about some clever pranksters. They entered a department after hours and escaped unnoticed. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking “So what did the steal?” Well, the truth be known they did not steal anything. Puzzling isn’t it? Listen to what they did next. They re-arranged some prices. “These clever pranksters took the tag off a $395.00 camera and stuck it on a $5.00 box of stationary. The $5.95 sticker on a paperback book was removed and placed on an outboard motor. They repriced everything in the store. … The craziest part of the story took place the next morning. … The store opened as usual. Employees went to work. Customers began to shop. The place functioned for hours before anyone noticed what happened. Four hours! Some got some great bargains. Others got fleeced”. (Quoted and paraphrased from: Max Lucado. No Wonder They Call Him Savior. Sisters: Multnomah Press, 1986, pp. 31-32). Sometimes we misplace our values in our relationships with others as well.