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"Honest,
But Honestly Mistaken"
Out of twelve sons, Joseph was Jacob’s favorite. As a display of his affection, Jacob made a
coat of many colors for Joseph. "But when his brothers saw that their
father loved him more than all his brothers, they
hated him and could not speak peaceably to him"
(Genesis 37:4 NKJV). When Joseph told his family of some dreams that
indicated that his family members would one day bow
down to him, his brothers hated him even more (Genesis
37:5-11). Their
hatred for Joseph grew to the point where they wanted
to kill him. Instead
of killing him, they decided to sell him as a slave to
a band of Ishmaelites who were on their way to Egypt
(Genesis 37:12-28).
Now Joseph’s brothers faced a dilemma: what were they going to tell Jacob?
They devised and implemented a plan: "So
they took Joseph's tunic, killed a kid of the goats,
and dipped the tunic in the blood. Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and
they brought it to their father and said, ‘We have
found this. Do you know whether it is your son's tunic
or not?’" (Genesis 37:31-32).
Jacob believed their scheme. Observing the coat of many colors saturated
with blood, he cried, “It is my son's tunic. A wild
beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn
to pieces" (Genesis 37:33).
Jacob was honest in his assessment of the
situation; he thought Joseph had been killed. He was
honest,
but he was
honestly
mistaken.
Saul was also honest in his convictions that he
should persecute Christians. He said, “Indeed, I myself thought I must do
many things contrary to the name of Jesus of
Nazareth" (Acts 26:9). But, when he was confronted by Christ, he
understood clearly that he had not been doing God’s
will.
Saul was honest,
but honestly mistaken.
From the examples of Jacob and Saul, we learn
that it is possible for you and for me to be honest
in our convictions, but honestly
mistaken. We can be confident that something is the truth, but we can
be wrong.
How can we know then, if our
convictions are true?
In His prayer to the heavenly Father, Jesus
stated, "Your
word is truth"
(John 17:17). Thus, we can know our convictions are true when
we derive our convictions from the word of truth,
God’s word. "All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God
may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good
work" (2 Tim 3:16-17).
Let’s be honest
- the Lord requires it!
Let’s also base our convictions on the word of God
lest we be.....
"Honestly Mistaken"
God bless you.
* I am indebted to Dr.
Kenneth Randolph who first “planted” this
principle in my heart and mind while I was a student
at Faulkner University in Montgomery, AL. Thank you, Dr. Randolph!
David A. Sargent,
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
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