Living Abundantly

Who is Joseph?
Joseph plays a central role in the early biblical narrative. He is the next to youngest son of Jacob and the oldest son of Jacob’s wife, Rachel. And, he is Jacob’s favorite. He has a series of dreams, that he interprets to his brothers, in which he gains prominence over them. So, they plot to kill him. His father, since he was the favorite, had given him a really nice coat, and expensive coat made of fabrics of bright colors. The brothers stripped him of the coat and threw him down an in-ground cistern, that was dry. It just happened that a caravan of slave traders passed by, and the brothers decided instead of letting their brother die, they would get something out of him, so they sold him into slavery in Egypt. They killed an animal, spattered blood on his coat, and told their father that Joseph had been attacked by a wild animal and killed. There is more to the story, but that is enough to get us oriented as we turn to Genesis today and the dreams of Pharaoh.

Living Abundantly

Life was good on the Nile, pronounced in Hebrew “nahal,” the name meant river of life. And there in the fertile crescent, life was abundant. Each year, the Nile flooded the land and deposited rich black silt, and the crops grew lush and green. The livestock ate and grew large and meaty. The people feasted and were satisfied. OK, they were more than satisfied, they ate until they could eat no more!

And then Pharaoh had a dream. He was standing on the Nile River bank as seven, the number of completion and wholeness in ancient times, seven cows, fat and sleek came up out of the waters and fed on the reed grass along the bank. Then seven other cows, gaunt and thin, not healthy at all, came up and ate the first seven fat cows, and remained skin and bones. Pharaoh woke. When he settled back to sleep, he dreamed again of seven ears of corn on one stalk, beautiful silks, full and good; and then of seven more ears sprouting, but these ears of corn were rotten, withered, the kernels hadn’t developed. In his dream, the thin ears of corn swallowed up the good corn. Disturbed by the dream, Pharaoh again awoke and was fitful and troubled by it the rest of the night and the next day, trying to find someone who could tell him what his dreams meant.

Joseph, the Israelite, was able to explain the dream. Life comes in cycles. Plenty and famine. In times of plenty, those who are wise live below their blessing and save for times of famine. Abundant living requires wise saving and investing – financially, relationally, and spiritually.

Living abundantly requires living below our blessings. In America, we have had difficulty with this concept. Not including mortgages, the average American has over $23,000 of debt. If you are one of the 75% of Americans who carry debt beyond your mortgage, abundant life is possible. And the time to start working on it is now. Start with your lowest balance and make it a game. See how fast you can pay it off. Then attack the next lowest balance. Make a plan and stick to it. And once you are debt free, it is not time to start spending. Start saving the same amount you’ve been paying on the balances. A good rule of thumb, if you start early in life, is to save 10%, give 10%, and live on 80% of your income. Today in America, on average, Christians give about 2% of their income to the church, save less than 4%, and spend above their means, so instead of a 10/10/80 strategy, they are living a 2/4/99 strategy, and the math just doesn’t work. The thin cows are feasting on the fatted calves and it will never be enough. Abundant living requires each of us to face the reality that debt rots the silks of our corn, and as a result of debt, we will have a lot of kernels of corn in our lives that are never going to produce fruit. If you want an accountability partner, let me know. If you would like a budget worksheet or help laying out a plan to get out of debt, I would be happy to help you get assistance. I particularly am a fan of Dave Ramsey’s baby steps: start with $1000 emergency fund, pay off your non-mortgage debt, and then start saving incrementally for emergencies, retirement, and for abundant living. There are going to be periods in your life of plenty and times when the ends just don’t meet. Abundant living requires wise saving and investing.

Not only financially, though. Abundant living requires wise saving and investing relationally as well. Each of us has an emotional bank account, and our loved ones make deposits, and withdrawals. Over the last several years, we have noticed that the children who come to the Day School are running debit accounts emotionally. They don’t know how to make eye contact when they are talking with someone. They don’t have empathy for their classmates. They crave attention and cling to anyone who shows them affection. It’s not just children, though. We are living in a more and more isolated society. We tend to watch our own shows, play our own games, and listen to our own music. Oh, hang on a minute. (Check phone) I’m sorry. The first way to help a withdrawal be a small one and not an overdraft is to apologize when you make a mistake. And to make sure you have a substantial balance. Listen. Really talk and really listen. Spend time together, one on one time. Make eye contact and pay attention to one another. Wives don’t have to dress up and freshen their makeup to greet their husbands at the door, but it does make a difference when a husband or wife notices when the other comes home and says hello. Play a game, laugh, cook together. When the world stopped in March of 2020, one of the blessings was that families were home together, and do you know what one of the first things to be in short supply was? Puzzles. Die cuts to make puzzles are only able to cut through a few puzzles, so they are time consuming to produce. At my house, we played all the games in the closet – some we had gotten and never even played. Be intentional about spending time with one another. Look at your commitments, your calendar, and create space. Relationships need time and attention. Not feeling loving? Then start doing loving things. Love is a verb, not a feeling. The feeling comes after the doing. Be kind and patient and compassionate with one another. There are going to be seasons. There will be times in your life of plenty and times when the ends just don’t meet. The same is true of all relationships, parent-child, friendships,…. Abundant living requires saving and investing, wisely, intentionally.

Abundant living requires investment in your primary relationship, too, your relationship with God. When tragedies happen, churches see a spike in attendance. After 9/11, people across America flocked to church, for a few weeks. Late March/early April 2020, the church in America saw huge numbers of online worshippers and church leaders were trying to figure out who these people were and how to reach them. But just as quickly as people come when tragedy strikes, they go again. There are lots of hypotheses about why they don’t stay. Partially, coming was an emotional decision and once the shock of the pain of the tragedy subsides, their emotions don’t motivate them anymore. Some criticize the church as the reason people come and don’t stay, saying that the church isn’t able to address their needs in coming. And I think that is valid for a number of reasons. Many churches have become more about staying alive than about glorifying God. A visitor in some churches is seen as “fresh meat” to join and volunteer and do all the things that everybody else is tired of doing. But, I think the reason people don’t stay is deeper than that. When the famine hits, we realize we are hungry. The thin, mal-nourished cows didn’t stand at the waters edge and eat day after day after day. They came to consume a quick meal, and they left still thin and malnourished. Relationships need time and attention, and our relationship with God is no different. We need regular worship attendance on our calendars. We need participation in the community of faith on our list of priorities. Summer is often a season of rest and vacations and then regrouping as we prepare for a new school year. This summer, make a plan, be intentional. How will you intentionally grow in your relationship with God?

Today is Trinity Sunday, the greatest mystery of our faith, God, three-in-one, Father-Son-Holy Ghost; Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer; Speaker, Word, Breath. So intertwined, so deeply in relationship that they are distinct yet united. We are called to live reflecting that unity, distinct yet in community for there will be years of plenty in our lives, and there will be years of famine. So, our intentional plan for our relationship with God must include relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ. How will you intentionally grow in your relationships with other Farmington family members?

As time passed, Joseph led the Egyptians in storing a portion of their blessings together, 7 years of abundant crops. And when the 7 years of famine came, they had enough for all of Egypt, and for their neighbors. Joseph’s brothers, sent by their father who still believed Joseph was dead, came on behalf of Israel, with no idea what had happened to their brother – their reconciliation is a story for another day. It was because the Egyptians lived not just within their means, but below their blessings, there was enough for all. This is God’s desire for you and for me, remember the words of Jesus, “I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly.” May the Holy Spirit guide us to live below our blessings, so that we may know the true joy of life abundant. Amen.