The Fix is In

“And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?” (Ge 37:30 AV)

The words above were spoken by Reuben.  The sons of Jacob saw Joseph coming to check in on them.  They were envious of the dreams of which Joseph spoke.  So, the originally devised a plan to kill Joseph and blame it on wild animals.  Reuben, being the eldest and knowing he would be held responsible for whatever happened to Joseph convinced his brothers to cast poor Joseph in an old well.  While Reuben was preoccupied, his brothers sold Joseph into slavery.  When Reuben returns, he finds the pit empty.  Knowing Jacob would hold him more responsible than his brothers, he asks the question above.  ‘Now what is he going to do’?  That would be the question Reuben was troubled with.  How is he going to answer his father?  What excuse will he give?  They devised to dip Joseph’s coat of many colors in goat’s blood and blame it on wild animals.  Reuben was stuck because he allowed a situation that was his to control to get out of hand.

“Now what am I going to do?”  A question we often ask ourselves.  Sometimes, the situation at hand got that way because we didn’t think it all the way through.  We live in snow country.  It takes a bit of forethought and planning to drive safely in such circumstances.  The tires on our vehicle were only half-worn, but driving with them last year, I knew we would need something better.  So, we went out and got a new set before winter set in.  What a difference.  The old tires only had twenty-five thousand miles on them.  In good weather, we could have gotten twenty-five thousand more.  But me and ditches don’t get along very well.  Knowing what roads to travel when bad weather hits will keep one safely on the road.  Once in a fix, we can get ourselves in a worse one by succumbing to panic.  Invariably, one will see a driver stuck in the snow and think that gunning it is the only way out.  More times than not, this only worsens the situation.   Throwing salt under the tires, adding ice chunks, perhaps a floor mat, or a number of other solutions are to be had.

The point is this.  Reuben, being the oldest, could have stepped up right from the beginning and denied his brothers’ plans.  Being the eldest, he could have simply commanded them to cease from their evil intent.  He could have warning Joseph to return before harm befell him.  Any number of solutions could have been considered.  After all, what made Reuben think that throwing him in a pit would assuage his brothers’ envy?  “Now what am I going to do?”  We say it often.  And often it is a fix we created ourselves.  Reuben, being the eldest, understood the responsibility.  When these brothers are confronted by a Joseph they do not recognize, Benjamin is threatened with imprisonment.  Reuben steps up and offers to spend his freedom in a prison cell.  He learned his lesson.  Be proactive and solve the problem the right way.  Asking the question can be an indication of poor planning or little initiative.  This question should be minimized as we seek to eliminate being a victim of our own poor judgment.