J. Douglas Dortch, Jr., Ph.D.
First Baptist Church, Tallahassee, FL
“Give Your Best Anyway”
From the Series "The Paradoxical Commandments"
Scripture: Genesis 50:15-21
November 11, 2007
How many times do you find yourself in situations where your efforts go totally and completely unappreciated?
That question crossed my mind this week as I was considering my calendar and noticing that this weekend would be Veterans Day weekend. I am not a veteran, but I can’t help but notice that no group in our country seems to be more unappreciated than those who have spent their time in service to our country.
It’s a complicated issue. I don’t know that we can simply pin it all on a lack of patriotism or love of country. If I were to be asked to pin it down, I’d say the issue might come down to the unpopularity of the conflicts that have occupied our nation’s military over the last thirty or forty years.
And for that very reason, I have to acknowledge my appreciation even more for the men and women who have donned the uniform. Not only have they taken an oath to give their best; they have taken the oath at a time when people have not shown much appreciation, gratitude, or support.
It may be that those who have served or are presently serving in the military are models for this last paradoxical commandment in the series we’ve been exploring. “If you give the world the best that you have, there will be times when your best will go unappreciated. Give your best anyway.”
Everyone loves commendation. There’s not a person alive who doesn’t appreciate a pat on the back and a word of support. But there are in the course of life times when hands will not be raised and words will not be spoken, even though we have offered our finest effort. And even more perplexing, there are times when if hands are raised to us, they are raised in rejection, and if words are spoken to us, they are spoken in rebuke. In times like those, only the most committed will be able to give of their best.
Such was the character of Joseph. Joseph’s story is a classic example of someone who gave of his best regardless of how others responded. And it wasn’t just a segment of his life when Joseph was being challenged. You look at his story in the book of Genesis and you see that from beginning to end, Joseph was always on the receiving end of someone’s evil intentions. At first it was his brothers, who out of jealousy and resentment sold him into slavery in an effort to remove him from the household. Later it was the wife of his master, who falsely accused him and landed him in prison. Then it was a fellow inmate, who forgot the good that Joseph had done for him in the prison and allowed Joseph to languish there unnecessarily for another two years.
All along the way Joseph had prospered in everything he undertook, and at every turn there was either a person or a group of persons who not only rejected him but mistreated him. And to Joseph’s credit, he continued to give his best anyway.
That devotion brings us to the passage that is before us today. In spite of the hurdles and headaches, God has honored Joseph’s devotion. He has emerged from prison to become Pharaoh’s representative. His word is like the word of Pharaoh. And God continues to find favor with everything Joseph does.
There is famine everywhere but in Egypt, and the brothers of Joseph come from Canaan seeking grain. Joseph has recognized them, but they have no idea as to his true identity. But when they learn who he is and that their future is bound up in the brother they had sold into slavery, they bow before him, begging his forgiveness for how they treated him way back when.
Notice how Joseph responds: “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” In other words, Joseph had been giving his best not so much to find favor with his fellow man. Joseph had been giving his best because giving his best was what God deserved.
One thing too many believers seem to have difficulty understanding is that there is a significant correlation between what we believe and how we live. That’s not to say that we are saved by our works. The Bible is clear – we are saved by grace through our faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). But the best evidence of our faith is the fruit that our lives produce – the things we can point to that make a difference in the place where God puts us.
Somewhere I came across the story about two men who were in a boat rowing down a river. The oarsman was a Christian, and he was talking about his faith in Christ. The passenger was not a Christian, and he was having difficulty accepting that mere faith in Jesus was enough to put us right with God. He wanted to argue that God accepts us on the basis of how we live, and his particular struggle was with people who say they believed in Jesus, but who lived like the Devil.
The Christian in the boat saw an opportunity to demonstrate the connection between faith and works. He took one oar and called it “works.” He then took the other oar and called it “faith.” He took the oar of “faith” and began to row with it alone. If you’ve been in a rowboat, then you know what happened next. The boat just went around and around in circles. Then he took the oar of “works” and did the same thing with the same results. Finally, he put both the oars into the water and they began to make progress.
When you hear me say that God’s expectation of us is that we always give our best, don’t hear me saying that God is asking for that in order for us to lift ourselves to where He is. Aside from being impossible, it’s unnecessary. God has already drawn near to us in the person of Jesus. You can’t get any closer to God than what God has done to draw near to us in the person of Jesus.
When you hear me say that God’s expectation of us is that we always give our best, hear me saying that our best is simply evidence of how deep our faith runs. And when we give it in the company of people who reject it and cannot appreciate it, even then our efforts are not in vain, because God accepts it and God appreciates it. And when we give of our best as an expression of our faith, God will bestow His favor in ways that bring us even greater joy.
Isn’t that what Jesus did? You look at how Jesus lived, and he always gave of his best. Indeed, you can argue that being perfect, Jesus could do no less. But what amazes me is how Jesus did it in the face of constant criticism and how he did it knowing all the while that the cross was in his future. And when the cross came and Jesus, while being crucified, had the chance to scorn his accusers, what was it that Jesus said? “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). I believe Jesus said that not just for God’s benefit and to God’s praise; I believe he said it for the sake of those who were responsible for his death. I believe he said it for his brothers in the same spirit Joseph had offered grace to his brothers. I believe that what Jesus was saying was along the lines of, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? (Of course, he was.) You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.”
When we look at Jesus, we see how God gave to us His very best. And when we accept what God has given, is there any way we can give anything less?
So, how are you living your life? How much are you giving? How much are you giving to others? How much are you giving to God? You may think that you are doing relatively well, but could you do better? As someone has said, “If better is possible, then good is not enough.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower was, of course, the 34th President of the United States. But he was also a military man – a five-star general who was Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces during the Second World War. It was Eisenhower’s decision to have American troops storm the beaches of Normandy on D-Day and one he did not take lightly. Eisenhower knew that such an invasion would be costly in terms of the lives that would be required of some of America’s best soldiers. Out of that experience came one of the great Eisenhower quotes: “There are no victories at bargain prices.” In other words, every win costs something, and every winner must give of his or her best. There is no other way.
How you live your life and how you practice your faith is your choice. In fact, the only person you can control is you yourself. It’s the only way that you can be who God created you to be.
Giving your best in face of rejection doesn’t mean that you are seeking to be a hero. It just means that you are seeking to be faithful. It just means that you are seeking to join God in the good He intends to do in the place where He has put you.
If in that place you give the best that you have, there will be times when your best will be unappreciated. There will also be times when your best will be rejected. Give your best anyway.
For when you do, you will also be showing your faith. And as Jesus reminded us, “Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.”