What you meant for evil . . .
Does God mean for bad things to happen? Is this the sort of God who orchestrates evil so that there can be the resolution of the good?
I am reminded of the story of Joseph. It is a favorite bible story of children, with many elements to enjoy. There is the family dynamic of a parent favoring one who is younger, not the oldest, with this favor representing itself in an object: the coat of many colors. There is intrigue and deception in that Joseph’s brothers, acting out of their jealousy, sell Joseph into slavery into Egypt. There are the many trials which Joseph encounters, eventually ending up in prison.
But then through the gift of his ability to interpret dreams and his wisdom in how to act based on that interpretation, Joseph survives, even prospers. Joseph is largely responsible for Egypt surviving a terrible famine, having the ingenuity to have the people plant the land and store the crops.
We are reminded again, that it is often the young ones among us who have a clarity of vision that we, who have become cynical adults, often lack. Dreams. Vision. Action.
Based on his gifts, Joseph rises to a position of great power in Egypt. The peak of the story of Joseph occurs when Joseph’s own family comes to Egypt, before Joseph, looking for grain. They do not recognize him, setting in motion a back and forth where Joseph eventually brings his youngest brother and his now-aged father to Egypt, in effect saving his entire family, even his conniving brothers, from famine.
And this is where we receive a theological gift from the text. Joseph says to them, “You meant to do me harm, but God meant it for good, to save many lives.” Often the translation emphasizes the plan to do Joseph harm, and how God’s plan was an intention for good, for life.
What you meant for evil, God intended for good.
There are other places where we encounter this language around “God’s plan”. There is Jeremiah 29 where God tells the people that God has plans for them to prosper. These words come to them in the midst of the horrors of exile. And there is Paul writing in Romans 8:28 that “in everything God works for good for those who love God . . .”.
This gets to some of the most challenging parts of our lives when we are faced with deep pain which may have happened with intention by others, by their anger, their hate and hostility. But then there are difficult experiences for which there is no one to blame. There are disasters and illness and deaths that wreak havoc on a life.
But does that mean that this evil, that it was God’s plan?
Walter Brueggemann in his commentary on Genesis points to a healthy tension in the text. He writes that it affirms both “realism” and “certitude”.
“Realism about our human place of jeopardy. Certitude about its outcome, by the faithfulness of God. Realism taken alone leads to despair, for then we only know about the danger, but not about the outcome. Certitude taken alone leads to romanticism, for then we only know the victory but imagine we are immune from the battle.”
My sense is that there are times in the face of difficulty that this emphasis on God’s plan is faithful in that it does rely on a strong, powerful God to ultimately take care of the outcome. But the danger here is that can also lead to a passivity, a willingness to let hate and hurt continue to inflict their wounds on us and on others.
The other side of the tension is where realism reigns, where it is our responsibility to fight disease, tragedy, and those who would hate and hurt others. I have lived long enough to know that human nature is both good and bad; our efforts are not the only answer. We do not do this alone. And at this point, my experience tells me too that this fight is not without pain, injury, and even death.
We are witnessing many actions that hurt, that deal death, that demonize “the other”. We remember that Joseph did not let his hurt turn to hate, that salvation, that life was for everyone, even those who had inflicted the hurt.
Yet the call, this call is to walk into the fight, knowing that we may get hurt, but trusting in the eventual outcome of good and of life for everyone.
Originally published at jasonhobbslcsw.com on August 13, 2017 following the rally, riots, and deaths in Charlottesville. I was reminded of this again this week in the aftermath of the school shooting in Florida. This has been revised to include the way in which the vision of our young people can lead to change.
