Genesis 40 vs 20-23 sees Joseph proven correct as God’s servant interpreting dreams correctly- the cupbearer is found innocent and restored to his position; the baker hung for the birds to devour.
‘Enduring Word’ has prolific lessons to stare into as understanding unfolds around this Joseph in prison.
Isn’t it so typical of us to identify ourselves as better than we really are as point (i) alludes to, “I am Joseph- God can use me to reveal His Word or His mysteries to others”?
This study note in ‘Enduring Word’ reminds us to practice Romans 12 vs 3, “Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.”
Drs O’Leary, Clinical Psychologists help to gain an understanding of why we project to avoid confronting our insecurities. To quote, “Projection is the unconscious act of attributing something inside ourselves to someone else.”
David Guzik, ‘Enduring Word’, draws us out of the delusion of over-estimation of self, delusion, belief in lies, and avoidance of self as we examine the study material point (iii). To quote, ‘“Joseph’s word only rescued the innocent prisoner, not the guilty one. The good news – the greatest news– is that the message and rescue of Jesus is for the guilty, also.”’
It is very important to understand that avoidance of being sober-minded about who we are and who Jesus is, as explained in the study notes, can lead us into the dopamine fuelled notion ‘Saviour Complex’. Saviourism is described as, “A need to “save” people by fixing their problems.” Typically, the ‘Word of Faith’ movement, many cults, and most world religions are typified by this ideological misnomer that we mere created creatures can magically do what ONLY GOD CAN DO.
Buddhists, may suffer the most with ideological saviour complex. Their ‘nirvana mentality’ smacks of trying to attain reach some imagined plateau of nothingness where all pain and influence is absent from reality, and teach that humans can achieve that. The absurdity of people trying to teach people to be absent of influence is an irony so laughable; the sheer lunacy that it is believed is startling. ‘Study.com’ reveals this saviouristic lunacy of Buddhist nirvana-mentality, to quote, ‘“If you open the Merriam-Webster Dictionary to ‘nirvana’, you will find the colloquial definition of the word to be ‘a place or state of oblivion to care, pain, or external reality. Nirvana is neither being nor not being. It is removing oneself from the framework of existence.”’- https://study.com/academy/lesson/nirvana-enlightenment-and-buddhist-salvation.html
The line between recognising the limitations of self and doing good as God instructs us is easily blurred when we haven’t dealt with our insecurities that easily seduce us into codependency and saviourism.
Crystal Raypole writes in ‘Healthline’ regarding saviourism, ‘“Dr. Maury Joseph, a psychologist in Washington, D.C., savior tendencies can involve fantasies of omnipotence. In other words, you believe someone out there is capable of single-handedly making everything better, and that person happens to be you.”’ – https://www.healthline.com/health/savior-complex#signs
The wonderful thing about confronting ourselves honestly before God is that it takes the pressure off of trying to prove our worth to God by killing ourselves doing good as a mechanism of avoiding our insecurities.
The journey of following Jesus begins with self-examination, ALWAYS.
Matthew 7 vs 3-5:
‘“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”’
In our avoidance of self, getting honest before God, projecting saviourism as a ‘form of godliness’ to appear good to win the approval of others’ praise we shoot ourselves in the foot. GOD WANTS TO USE US FOR HIS PURPOSES, but for that to happen we need to surrendered to God as God, and recognise that it’s by His Will of Amazing Grace that repentant wretches like ourselves are used by God to reach others.
There is a Saviour, but it is not us.
A magnificent example that Jesus demonstrated so many times is the account of Jesus feeding the 5000, Matthew 14 vs 16-20.
Jesus, although God, teaches us to recognise that God is the miracle-maker by looking up, and prays.
This example of Jesus teaches us how to do Proverbs 16 vs 9, ‘“We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.”’
God’s Amazing Grace is so profoundly beautiful because we can come, and keeping coming, as we are, honestly, before God, who gives us enough light for the step we are on, and gives us spiritual milk to grow us into solid food, whilst simultaneously putting our hand to the plough as we, together, reach lives for Jesus to save.
Chasing a nirvana-mentality in the hope of somehow being good enough to be used by God tells God that disbelieve Him when He says to us, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12 vs 9).
Our journey with Jesus requires us to recognise that we are the guilty baker, but the baker is as important to God as the cupbearer.
Think about this……
If humans could save themselves and achieve nirvana, after these so-called millions of years of existence, by now, we’d live in perfectly crime/disease/pain free world. The fact that we aren’t should speak loudly and get us onto our knees singing, “Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch; like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!”
JESUS LOVES US, let’s let Him, together.
#Hayibo 