Joseph had wisdom. God gave it to him.
Let's take a look at Joseph's response when he was asked to interpret dreams:
" They said to him, We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them. And Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me." - Genesis 40:8-9
"And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it.I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can
interpret it."
" Joseph answered Pharaoh, It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer. " -Genesis 41:15-16
Joseph immediately puts the focus on God and not on himself . It could have been so easy to not even recognize God and become prideful in his own abilities to help Pharaoh.
Do you respond like Joseph? I can easily attest that I do not. My heart often wants to take credit for any talents God has given me.
God is the giver of our talents and wisdom. When we acknowledge that, with our hearts and mind we can better glorify Him.
You make an important point that all of our talents and abilities are God-given and, thus, designed to be God-glorifying. It's too easy for us to see them as us-given and therefore designed to be us-glorifying.
ReplyDeleteBut how do we guard against the attitude of the Pharisee who prayed "God I thank you that I am not like ... this tax collector" (Luke 18:11)?