Now Israel loved Joseph more than any
other of his sons...
Genesis 37:3
“Here he comes, Dad’s
little pet,” Rueben smirked. The ten brothers stood as a unit, hostility crackling
in the air. As the eldest, Rueben had been the apple of his father’s eye, and the
brothers all knew they were the fulfillment of God’s promise to their
grandfather, Abraham. They had purpose, position, and power. Then Joseph came
along, and Dad seemed to forget the rest of them. To make it worse, Dad
flaunted his favoritism, giving an expensive robe to a little kid. The brat
wore it like he was a king. They gave up trying to get Dad’s attention and turned
their focus upon the one who’d stolen it. Hurt and resentment mushroomed into
fighting and revenge. Little brother became the enemy and home became a
battlefield.
Maybe you grew up
in a home like that. You know the sting of favoritism and swore you’d never do
that to your kids. But now, your family accuses you of the same thing. You
don’t mean to, but it’s hard to treat them all equally when some are harder to handle
than others. But there’s that one who wanted you when the others wanted Mama.
Or he/she likes what you like, wants to be with you. Being a parent to more
than one child is overwhelming, and treating them all equally is easier than it
sounds. But if you find yourself favoring one child over the others, Jacob
invites you to take a peek into his home and learn from his mistakes. His favoritism
created disaster for one son and incited lying, hatred, and revenge in the
others. Don’t be a Jacob.
.
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