Quick Note – Genesis 41:15-16 – Credit to Whom Credit Is Due

Genesis 41:15-16, 39 – 15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”… 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are.”

In science, one of the most important things a scientist must do is publish.  The more scientific papers that are submitted and accepted with them as authors leads to more success.  It determines whether a scientist will get grants, will be promoted in position, and even get hired at universities.  That is why a common phrase quoted in science is “Publish or perish.” 

Because of this need for publications, authorship on papers is a hotly debated topic.  Some labs like to put every lab member onto a paper regardless of the work they did.  Other labs like to limit the authorship to just a few people who came up with the scientific ideas.  And some labs try to distribute out the authorship as appropriately as possible, giving credit to those who deserve it.  I personally prefer the last way of doing it, in that those who deserve credit receive it.  The person who writes the paper and does most of the work is the first author, those who assist can be additional authors, and the principal investigator is the last author.  Then everyone gets credit where they deserve.  But even this can be confusing, because who determines whether someone contributed enough to be put on a paper?  So as you can see in science it is hard to assign appropriate credit. 

However, it was not difficult for Joseph to give the right person credit in Genesis 41.  In this chapter, Pharaoh dreamed about cows and grain.  In his dreams there were seven fat and good cows and seven fat and good ears of grain that were eaten up by seven thin and ugly cows and seven thin and beaten ears of grain.  This dream shocked Pharoah so much that he looked for someone to interpret it.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t find anyone even amongst his wise men until he was told about Joseph.  One of Pharoah’s cupbearers had a dream interpreted by Joseph before, so he told Pharoah that Joseph could do it.  Immediately, Joseph was called out of prison to meet with Pharoah. 

When Pharoah met Joseph, he attributed the ability to interpret dreams to him.  But Joseph corrected him stating, “It is not in me; God will give Pharoah a favorable answer.”  Joseph recognized that his ability to interpret dreams did not come from his own strength but was a blessing given to him by God.  So rather than taking credit for it, Joseph gave credit to God.  For this reason, after Joseph interpreted Pharoah’s dream to him, Pharoah recognized God.  He told Joseph, “God has shown you all this…”  By giving credit to whom credit was due, Joseph was a witness for the almighty God to Pharoah and likely all of Egypt.  

In our lives, it is easy for us to take credit for the things we do.  But we must remember that the ability to work, to think, to act – all comes from God.  When we have a success, it is because God helped us achieve it.  When we finish a goal, it is because God gave us the strength to do so.  When we share the Gospel, and someone gets saved, it is because the Holy Spirit worked in that person’s heart.  It is as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”  We are simply the hands in God’s great work.  Let us always remember to give credit to the One who deserves all our worship and praise, for when we do, we are witnesses for Him to this world.  

Quick Note – Acts 14:27 – God’s Doing

Acts 14:27 – 27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

Like many people, I enjoy feeling appreciated.  I like being told that I did a good job or that I am one of the best at something.  Although it isn’t necessarily bad to enjoy the occasional compliment, it can get problematic when you begin to seek that praise or to feel like you deserve it.  It may seem like this is simply a worldly problem, but Christians can struggle with this issue as well.  When a ministry is going well or a testimony or teaching leads to someone getting saved, it is quite easy to begin to think of yourself as the one who did it.  However, we must remember that it is not us who does the work but God. 

In our passage today, Paul and Barnabas gave an account of their first missionary journey to the church in Antioch.  When they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.  Although Paul and Barnabas were the missionaries, although they were the ones that shared the Gospel, although they were the ones that suffered for the faith, they correctly recognized that it was not their doing that led to the Gentiles turning to God, but that it was God’s work.  God worked through them.  God opened the door of faith.  God moved the hearts of the people to turn to Him.  They were merely the instruments which God used. 

The same goes for us.  We are simply the tools that God uses to bring others to know Him.  This is why Paul could say in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.  He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receives his wages according to his labor.  For we are God’s fellow workers.  You are God’s field, God’s building.”  Let us never forget that ultimately it is not our doing that leads to salvation but God’s.  He brings the increase, so let us join Him in the labor.