Cutting Losses
If you lost once, would you be willing to risk losing again?
And their father Jacob said to them, 'I am the one you have bereaved of children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has happened to me!' Then Reuben said to his father, 'You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.' But he said, 'My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should come to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.' - Genesis 42:36-38
Jacob finds himself in a difficult spot in today's reading.
He does not want to lose another son, especially the only other brother of Joseph, through Rachel. Joseph was his favorite son, and Benjamin is all he has left to remind him of Joseph.
So, Jacob is willing to live with his loss, including the loss of another son, Simeon who is being held in prison in Egypt, rather than give up his beloved Benjamin.
By deciding to do nothing, Jacob is trying to cut his losses, and who couldn't understand his position?
He could lose more by letting them take Benjamin back than he looses by doing nothing. So they do nothing.
But the grain they bought will run out, and then what?
If they thought ahead, they might have considered the benefits of building a good relationship with the lord of the grain in Egypt (not knowing he is their kin, Joseph).
The consequences of reneging on their deal with Joseph can be severe. Not only can Simeon lose his freedom and possibly his life, but they can create an enemy out of a needed ally.
I think the message in this reading is to look ahead, to think about what happens next, what consequences will my actions and decisions bring?
In the end, cutting one's losses may just be a temporary solution. We may need to be all in before we find the true benefit of engaging in relationship, whether that is a relationship with our neighbor, or with God.
More to come...