Acting when it matters

In the story of Joseph, we witness his broth ers’ growing hatred and resentment towards him, which ultimately leads them to throw him into a pit and sell him into slavery. To cover up their violent act, they fabricate a story to tell their father, convincing him that Joseph is dead. This all unfolds in Genesis 37. However, much of this tragedy could have been avoided if one person had acted with more urgency. In the midst of this chaos, Reuben, one of Joseph’s brothers, steps in and convinces the others not to kill Joseph, but to throw him into the pit instead. According to Genesis 37:22, Reuben’s plan was to return later, rescue Joseph, and bring him back to their father. Unfortunately, while Reuben was away, the other brothers sold Joseph. When Reuben returned and discovered what had hap pened, he was distressed but ultimately became complicit in the lie and the entire deceitful scheme. What can we learn from this? The key lesson here is the importance of acting swiftly and following through when we know someone needs help. Don’t wait for the right moment or delay your actions, because waiting can often make the situation worse. James 4:17 reminds us that “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” In some ways, we should strive to be like Reuben-seeing a wrong and taking action to try and right it. But in other ways, we need to be better than Reuben: when we see something wrong, we must act immediately and take responsibility before the situation escalates.