Far from living by the principle of "an eye for an eye," Joseph generously offered total forgiveness to his brothers. When he was younger, they had threatened to kill him and then decided to sell him into slavery instead (37:18-28). Yet when they moved to Egypt during a famine, he welcomed their families and provided for them as the nation's governor. But after their father died, the fear again rose up that Joseph would seek revenge. Perhaps he had only treated them kindly to spare their father's feelings while he was still alive. So to protect themselves from this imagined danger they sent a representative to beg for their lives, hoping Joseph would merely enslave them rather than kill them. But in his reply to their plea Joseph revealed three powerful attitudes which had totally released him from bitterness. Few people have had a greater right to be bitter than Joseph, yet, obviously, he had somehow discovered an antidote for the toxic poison of unforgiveness. Though his brothers believed he would never forgive their betrayal, the truth was he did. He emotionally released it and moved on. We would all do well to learn how he did this, and thankfully, he revealed his secret. Now we too can follow in his footsteps if we'll let these same attitudes be in us.

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