Genesis 45
Later in Joseph's work in Egypt, he has the opportunity that some people only dream of. Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers, holds the power of life and death over the very ones who mistreated him. How many times have you wished to be in a position to get back at those who made life harder for you? Perhaps someone takes credit for your work, backstabs you in front of the boss, or gets the promotion that should have been yours. Just let them wait till you're the one with the power, right? That's exactly where Joseph was, but his response to that power was completely counter to what we might expect in a dog-eat-dog world. He refused to take revenge in his business dealings (or personal dealings with them). That's described in chapter 45 and then again in chapter 50 (where his brothers assumed that he'd waited for revenge until after their father had died).
This is not exactly a work-related lesson, but I think the application for work is clear. There's a fair amount of research on revenge and retaliation in the workplace. Looking at Joseph, we see someone modeling God's grace. Instead of revenge, Joseph ensures that his family is treated like royalty.
Someone just reminded me of something here. Remember that Joseph dealt with slavery and prison for a long time. We're probably not talking a few months of discomfort. He was 17 in Gen 37:2 while tending his father's flocks, and he was 30 when he entered Pharaoh's service (Gen. 41:46). So that's 13 years. The Bible isn't clear exactly how that's divided up between being sold, serving Potiphar, and prison. His brothers' actions put him in slavery and prison for many years. And he still refused to exact revenge. Pretty amazing.
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