3. Genesis 39
7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
8 But he refused,
14 … she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:
15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.
I have learned at this church that the voice of Truth and Love is constantly speaking to us through our spiritual sense.
I have also seen how to the ‘voice’ of error lifts itself up, trying to drown out our spiritual sense, to confuse and mislead.
I have lifted my voice for the right reasons, and also lifted it for the wrong. I have seen that people want to do good, they want to be on the side of right, but sometimes have no idea how to start. I know that was true of me, and after years of searching, I began to feel that perhaps there was no right. In that place, it is easy to look to the narrow confines of your family, friends, and culture to try to determine what is right. That rarely works out all that well, unless God is the focus!
In this story of Joseph, it seems that in a culture that valued power and the people who possessed it, the master’s wife felt her only way to get ahead was to gain more of that power through “acquiring” Joseph. Likewise, in a culture that values complaining, people will seek to complain and disrupt more. In a culture that values money, they seek more money.
I am grateful that this church has a culture that values God, unity, and service, because that helps newcomers to understand exactly what must be done to move forward. If that newcomer arrives and does not “fight the system” then they are set up to move forward in a right way. Eventually the benefits of what this church has, what authentic Christian Science has, will be obvious and one will do right because it is right by God, and not just right within the culture of the church.
I also think it is important to note that the stated culture must not be a mask for control. If a family says they value education, but just want to control what the child does, the child will feel that distinction, and rebel. Equally, if this church sought to humanly control its members, then it would have failed. I am so grateful for this church, and for the selfless and God-directed work of every member, past and present. Thank you!