Daily Reflection

Genesis 41:55-57.42:5-7.17-24, Psalm 33 and Matthew 10:1-7)_
_*“’In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us and we would not listen; therefore is this distress come upon us.’ And Reuben answered them, ‘Did I not tell you not to sin against the lad? But you would not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood’” (Genesis 42:21-22).*_
It was Sir Isaac Newton that said: “To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” In other words, it is how you lay your bed that you lie on it. When Joseph’s brothers were being wicked to him, they felt they could cut short his dreams, but unknown to them they were indirectly making those dreams a reality. 
It was fun for Joseph’s brothers when they sat down to eat the food Joseph brought for them while they watched him being led into slavery in tears. It is also fun for us when we engage in sinful acts sometimes but there surely comes a day of reckoning. Dear friends, wickedness does not pay.
Joseph was just a child when he suffered betrayal from his brothers. The worst acts of man’s inhumanity to man today are evils meted out against children. Think of the millions of children whose lives are destroyed through abortion, child abuse, sexual assault, neglect, forced labour and even prostitution. 
Dear friends, if there is any lesson we must take home today, it is: “Be good to children.” Help these little ones, help them achieve their dreams, help them not because of who they are, but for the sake of who they can become tomorrow. 
The same Joseph that was considered unnecessary by his brothers is the same Joseph that was Governor of the whole of Egypt, the same Joseph of which Pharaoh said: “Go to Joseph, do whatever he tells you.” Let us learn to treat our assistants, our subordinates, our employees with love and respect. We never know what God has planned for their future. 
Here comes the shocking truth: No matter how wicked we are towards the young, we can never thwart the plan of God for their lives. That child you rejected from pregnancy, that child you refused to feed when you could, that child you molested, assaulted and refused to educate, that child you used as a work machine, subjected to all kinds of inhumane treatment eventually becomes a life-saver later in life. 
Dear friends, it is never too late today to make amends, it is never too late to stop treating children badly.
Ruben said to his brothers: “Did I not tell you not to sin against the lad?” Of course, he told them but why did he refuse to act when they refused to listen to his warning? Why did he refuse to report the matter to their father when they got home that day? Today he shares in the punishment. It is not enough that we speak out when we see evil, we must do something no matter how little to stop it from happening. 
In the Gospel passage, Jesus empowers His disciples by giving authority over unclean spirits and sicknesses. Matthew mentions the names of the twelve, he also adds that among them was Judas Iscariot who eventually betrayed Jesus just as Joseph’s brothers betrayed him by selling him off to slavery. Jesus knew what Judas Iscariot was capable of yet that did not stop Him from giving him authority. It is not what we have that defines us, it is who we are. By every standard, Judas Iscariot was an Apostle but in truth, he was a betrayer.
Thought for today: “What I am doing with all that God has blessed me with?”