Holy Brit

In the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat Joseph's sings a song from the jail cell. it is quite heart rending - "Do what you want to me," he sings, "hate me and laugh at me, darken my daytime and torture my night - if my life were important I would ask, will I live or die, but I know the answers lie far from this world."

Joseph had been minding his own business, doing a great job for his master, Potiphar, when Potiphar's wife decided that she liked the look of Joseph. His refusal to have anything to do with her made her so angry that she lied about him - she said he had tried to attack her, and Joseph ended up in jail.

I do not know whether the real Joseph might have been to circumspect about his fate as the Joseph of the musical - but the musical certainly stays close to the biblical ideal which is that God looks after Joseph and makes him prosper.

When people lie about us or spread rumors it is really hard. I have been on the receiving end of some nastiness in the past and it makes you really angry - especially when there is no substance to it. Gossip and lies can do a huge amount of damage to a reputation and this has knock on effects in all areas of life. Joseph finds himself flattened materially by the lie which, as a slave, he has little power to defend himself against.

When we are attacked we have a fight or flight response. Many people choose to fight through thee courts, suing and issuing libel suits. Or we can pretend it is not happening at all - just ignore it and hope that it goes away.

Joseph did something which is in between - there was no ignoring the fact that he was in jail and deprived of the life he had built up - but he does not fester there - he transforms his situation and makes himself the best he can be. He is put in charge of the other prisoners. This quiet transformation of the situation, this listening to God's voice and accepting God's redemption in a bad situation has much to be said for it. Joseph proves himself to be who he claims to be, not by justifying himself in the past, but by continuing forward in a way which matches his profession of faith.

I am not saying we should simply ignore it when people lie about us and cause us harm - I am saying that from experience I know it is important to consider how we go forward when we find ourselves under any sort of attack. Is our response one which understand that God does not like this either and offers redemption - if only we can remember who we are.