Perspective: Wk3 - TUE
Position
Genesis 40:1-4
Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.
I find it fascinating how time and place shift our sense of who is important. I served as a chaplain to high schoolers for nine years and then as a professor with undergraduate students for another eight. Those back-to-back experiences allowed me to observe the frequent shift in students’ lives from “big man on campus” to obscurity, or the awkward, unnoticed young lady to the college beauty. If we decide who is important too early, we are often wrong.
Then, there is the dynamic of location or subject matter. It is always interesting to watch a person with the kind of expertise that garners respect and deference step into a conversation in which they are ignorant and unknown. They may arrogantly expect to be treated with reverence based on their position in the economy of their field, only to be brutalized by dismissal, finding others uninterested in their point of view.
Possibly the most vivid gap between perceived and actual importance stems from position. Our story includes a cupbearer and a baker, two individuals who, at a quick glance, may seem to serve in menial positions. But these are not kitchen help. They serve Pharaoh as ministers in high-level governmental positions requiring absolute trust and security clearance. They have constant access to the supreme monarch of Egypt. These elite ministers of the court were capable of influencing royal safety and state affairs. However, importance based on position is always fleeting and temporary.
Our story follows two high-ranking officers as they are stripped of their positions and thrown into prison. No longer do they have influence based on their business cards. Their power is gone.
Compare the influence of the cupbearer and the baker with that of Joseph. Even here, in the depths of imprisonment, Joseph is their inferior. He must “attend to them.” Yet it is Joseph who interprets their dreams, Joseph who influences the throne, Joseph whose name is remembered. As it turns out, position is not required to affect this story, change your workplace, or impact our community. While certain positions can be useful, God simply needs our diligence, perseverance, and an attitude of hopefulness.
Today, whether you were the last one hired or your name is on the door, if you have never been called a leader or if most people look to you, may you accept the opportunity to partner with Jesus. May you experience the impact that transcends positional power and watch God move.
Genesis 40:1-4
Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.
I find it fascinating how time and place shift our sense of who is important. I served as a chaplain to high schoolers for nine years and then as a professor with undergraduate students for another eight. Those back-to-back experiences allowed me to observe the frequent shift in students’ lives from “big man on campus” to obscurity, or the awkward, unnoticed young lady to the college beauty. If we decide who is important too early, we are often wrong.
Then, there is the dynamic of location or subject matter. It is always interesting to watch a person with the kind of expertise that garners respect and deference step into a conversation in which they are ignorant and unknown. They may arrogantly expect to be treated with reverence based on their position in the economy of their field, only to be brutalized by dismissal, finding others uninterested in their point of view.
Possibly the most vivid gap between perceived and actual importance stems from position. Our story includes a cupbearer and a baker, two individuals who, at a quick glance, may seem to serve in menial positions. But these are not kitchen help. They serve Pharaoh as ministers in high-level governmental positions requiring absolute trust and security clearance. They have constant access to the supreme monarch of Egypt. These elite ministers of the court were capable of influencing royal safety and state affairs. However, importance based on position is always fleeting and temporary.
Our story follows two high-ranking officers as they are stripped of their positions and thrown into prison. No longer do they have influence based on their business cards. Their power is gone.
Compare the influence of the cupbearer and the baker with that of Joseph. Even here, in the depths of imprisonment, Joseph is their inferior. He must “attend to them.” Yet it is Joseph who interprets their dreams, Joseph who influences the throne, Joseph whose name is remembered. As it turns out, position is not required to affect this story, change your workplace, or impact our community. While certain positions can be useful, God simply needs our diligence, perseverance, and an attitude of hopefulness.
Today, whether you were the last one hired or your name is on the door, if you have never been called a leader or if most people look to you, may you accept the opportunity to partner with Jesus. May you experience the impact that transcends positional power and watch God move.
- What were you like in high school: popular or unpopular, a “big person on campus” or unnoticed?
- What are the settings in which you have positional power? Do you find it easy or hard to govern the additional power you experience? Why is that so?
- In what circumstances do you wish you had more ability to influence things? How do you envision God could use you in that environment without relying on the power of position?
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