Familiarity Breeds Contempt

Ever heard that saying?

How about this one?

"A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family."

Kind of a corollary, isn't it? I guess it is a very interesting thing, as most things seem to be in the Bible, how it relates to other sections of the Bible. Say, the OT reading for today. We are reading the story of Joseph.

Joseph was clearly a prophet. He had multiple dreams, but among his own family, these dreams were disregarded, and he was sold into slavery. While enslaved in Egypt, he continued to be faithful to God, and God stayed with him, so that he could prosper. And not only did he prosper, but he was much honored as "a man who is obviously filled with the spirit of God," as Pharaoh describes him. Among his own people, in his own family, he was ridiculed and beaten, but among enemies, while staying true to his faith, he was revered.

It's one thing for Jesus to tell a reader how a prophet is not honored. It's especially helpful when we see this in the OT story for today. What do we learn from this?

Where you think you may be the safest, may actually be the least safe. And where you think the greatest danger may lie, you may be able to do the most good. Don't be afraid to journey, either physically or spiritually. It is okay to step out, while keeping God at the forefront of your walk. He will guide your path, and He will provide. Home is not always the right place to be. And, when we apply these lessons to ourselves, and the way we treat others, we see that maybe the people we know really aren't all that bad. Maybe they truly are touched by God, and our familiarity with them keeps us from seeing that. Our rationality, of what we "know" of them, becomes our pride-driven downfall in our interpretation of them, and their place in the Kingdom.

Does it actually say all these things in the bible? No, but one is able to interpret, if interpretation is allowed, that this is part of the underlying meaning. Again, it is an attempt to find wisdom, and to approach the meaning with humility, not pride.

What am I supposed to learn from this.

Please, God, tell me.