A grassroots pastor from east China posted an article on his WeChat talking about how Christians should learn from Joseph as a model in the workplace.
Joseph's career changed when he was sold into slavery. He had shepherded flocks with his brothers, been sold as a slave, ended imprisoned, and then rose to power. In today's words, he went from housekeeping to management and eventually to politics.
The pastor believes that Joseph's devotion showed in every career transition.
Here's how we learn from Joseph in the workplace:
Hold on to your faith
What's precious about Joseph is that he inherited the faith of his father and ancestors and dedicated it to both his work and life. Christians today need to learn from this earnestly; otherwise, their faith will come apart from their work and life and won't bear fruit.
Joseph accomplished his work with the help of God. Not only did he gain, his master, supervisor, and neighbors also benefited from him.
The article gave a few examples: Potiphar's family were blessed because of Joseph; In prison, Joseph interpreted dreams for the cupbearer and chief baker with his wisdom; He provided interpretations for Pharaoh and was promoted to second-in-command of Egypt, preparing food for the coming famine and saving many lives.
Be diligent and loyal
Some Christians have misunderstandings about their workplace not belonging to God, so they don't work as hard. In their mind, serving in the church is the top priority.
However, Joseph was not like that.
He was very diligent. His excellent work in all things gained the approval of Potiphar when working in his house as a slave. The author continued that in addition to the help of God, his own diligence played a part in his smooth work. After all, God wouldn't help a lazy person.
"Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth," quoted the author from Proverbs 10:4. One must be diligent to receive abundant rewards from work.
Joseph was loyal to both Potiphar and Pharaoh in everything, big or small. He was also committed to his work and never let his master down with the result that "Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned." (Genesis 39:4) What even glorified God was that "Potiphar...did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate." (Genesis 39:5)
What a good testimony it was!
Do what you ought to do
Not only did Joseph work hard, he knew what he ought to do and what he shouldn't.
For instance, Joseph rejected the seduction of Potiphar's wife. He didn't sin against man or God.
Nowadays, when people have more power, money, and higher social status, they become supercilious. They're fearless to do anything against the moral bottom line, laws, and regulations.
Be prepared and innovative
Many believers tend to overlook this, thinking God already has everything in His hands. In fact, our God IS prepared and innovative and he also puts this precious character inside of man to be discovered. This is a character that every worker should be aware of.
The author commented that people must be visionary in their work, preparing for the foreseeable things with a plan. Without this, they will likely face unemployment and exclusion.
Joseph was a worker like this.
When no one could interpret Pharaoh's disturbing dreams, the cupbearer remembered Jesus and referred him to Pharaoh. Joseph learned from the dream that there would be seven years of plenty throughout all the land of Egypt and after them there would arise seven years of famine. Joseph was fully prepared. "This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine." (Genesis 41:36)
And it was all because of Joseph's good preparation. He became a successful senior administrator.
-Translated by Grace Hubl
