10-11 When he told it to his father and brothers, his father reprimanded him: "What's with all this dreaming? Am I and your mother and your brothers all supposed to bow down to you?" Now his brothers were really jealous; but his father brooded over the whole business. (The Message)
The conflict with Joseph and his brothers starts out not with the dreams but with a bad report that Joseph gives to his father about their work in the family business. The conflict only gets more intense as Joseph shares his dreams with his brothers. Sometimes I wonder if Joseph's personality was just combative in his younger years and this conflict was bound to happen because of who Joseph was or would Joseph and his brothers had a better relationship if he had not been seen as the favorite? One way or another the conflict between brothers only gets worse over time and we are told that the older brothers brooded about it all.
Conflict within a family can become rather intense. We laugh about the family feuds of the Hatfield's and McCoy's and the truth is that sometimes conflict goes on long enough that the original reason's for the conflict fade far into our memories. But the conflict remains to brood over when it is not addressed in a healthy way. One of the signs of healthy family/church/relationship is the ability to deal with conflict openly and without brooding. It takes work to deal with conflict but the results of not dealing with it can become disastrous.
Some thoughts to ponder and share with others:
- If you were one of Joseph's brothers what words might you use to describe him?
- Have you ever known someone like Joseph? How did other people relate to them?
- What is the worst family conflict that you know of personally?
- What might you do to bring Godly healing into the midst of an intense and ongoing conflict around you?
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