The Pain of the Past (Genesis 42:6-17)

Have you ever noticed how we tend to remember the bad things that happened to us far clearer than the good things? I had one pastor tell me that he could receive a hundred compliments on his sermon on Sunday, but he remembers that one person who spoke criticism more than any of the rest. Our brains just seemed programmed to remember the hurt more than the praise.

I think that’s because we don’t like pain, so we build up walls to protect ourselves. When someone speaks ill of us or does something unjust to us, it cuts us. No matter how deep the cut, it always hurts, and that pain always leaves a scar on our hearts. A person may treat you with incredible kindness for most of your life, but the injustice that they once did to you in the past is always remembered. You know that you should “forgive and forget,” but you struggle to forgive, and it’s impossible to forget.

So what do you do?

Well, in the case of Joseph, God has blessed him beyond all possible imagination. He has been raised up as second in the land only to Pharaoh; he has demonstrated his vast wisdom in preparing for the famine in such a way that all the nations are coming to him for aid. He is on the mountain top!

But then he sees his brothers. Those same brothers who mocked him as a child. Those same brothers who threw him into a pit. Those same brothers who sold him into slavery. And what happens? He feels that scar on his heart. He doesn’t treat them with the same kindness with which God has treated him. Instead, he remembers his scar and acts accordingly.

Please Read Genesis 42:6-17.

There is no chance that these men are spies. But Joseph has such power in the land that the mere accusation from him would be enough to leave them in prison for the rest of their lives. God has raised this former slave up to such heights that he needs to merely speak the word and all of his brothers could be permanently imprisoned.

When Joseph remembers the pain that his brothers caused him, his first instinct is to hurt them back. But then they speak of his little brother, Benjamin, for whom Joseph clearly still has strong positive feelings. Rather than simply imprisoning them all for life, he decides to set up a plan for them to bring back his brother.

In the midst of his dark memories of his childhood, there is a faint light of joy. That light is Benjamin. If there is some hope of seeing Benjamin again, Joseph is willing to withhold judgment on his brothers.

When we are cut, when we are hurt by those who are close to us, we have to train our minds to remember the good. We have to ignore the pain caused by Reuben and Simon and Judah--that pain that calls out to us so strongly from our scars. We have to ignore that pain and focus on the joy that Benjamin gave us; remembering the good times. By focusing on the good, you will be more willing to forgive the bad. Joseph isn’t there yet, but he will be. Most of us aren't there yet, but you will be.