Jussie, Jacob, and Joseph
In Chicago right now, a case of an alleged hate crime is falling to pieces. Jussie Smollett, an actor from the show “Empire” on Fox, came out on January 29th with a wild story where he was attacked for racial and political motives on the streets of Chicago. Fresh off of the fiasco of the Covington Catholic School incident, the media jumped on Smollett’s story declaring America (specifically Trump supporters) racist, homophobic, and overall divided to the point of violence. It turns out that none of Smollett’s narrative was true and that it was in fact fabricated to help him gain media presence and self-promotion, making initial reports look foolish.
Right now, the media climate in America is designed to work based on confirmation bias, one that sends each party to the bunkers with each headline. It seems to be easier to declare the opposition hateful, bigoted, and racist when they disagree rather than to look at the evidence and wait for clarity to distinguish truth from falsehood. With the world becoming smaller every day through the rise of technology, it is easy to assume that this reactive culture is a new problem based on widespread news, but in fact, this is an age-old problem that has plagued humanity.
Roughly 4,000 years ago, in a tale that can be found in Genesis 37, the same scheme of Smollett was used to fool one of the Christian and Jewish Patriarchs. Jacob, the father of the nation of Israel, was frequently driven by his passions and fears. Joseph, his youngest son of his beloved wife, Rachel, was the center of his life. He praised him in front of his older brothers and gave him special gifts, with the most notable being a coat of many bright colors. Joseph's brothers grew to hate Joseph so much that when they saw the bright coat in the distance one day, they felt they had their chance to get rid of him. They wanted the attention Joseph had and wanted to hurt their father for the pain he caused them. So they threw Joseph into a pit to later sell him as a slave.
The brothers took Joseph's coat and covered it in blood, knowing they could sell their father on the demise of his favorite son. They sent the coat with a message: “We found this. Examine it. Is it your son’s robe or not?” There was no question it was Joseph’s coat, but rather than question what had happened and look into the incident, Jacob immediately assumed the worst. The evidence made Jacob’s worst fear come to life, Joseph was dead. With this story being the easiest narrative to accept, Jacob latched on.
This is the same story for us today. In popular media (both left and right) the focus is on the greatest fear. In our political case, it is that the other side is actually hateful, violent, and purposefully antagonistic. So when given the narrative where the greatest fear would seem to be true, it is easier to accept it and promote it than question it. Jacob lived in mourning and depression for over 20 years believing his son was dead and telling others that falsehood. For the first week of the Covington and Smollett cases, and countless more over the last few years, many have taken the same approach.
Believe it and loudly decry it even without knowing the truth.
Although seen loudest from our political pundits, this is a personal issue. In each of our lives, we are faced with great fears: we do not matter, we do not have what it takes, we are alone. Joseph, the son who was thought to be dead, faced these fears. He was known as a dreamer, one who saw himself as a leader and king, only to end up in a pit. When rescued, he then became a slave, and when he rose out of slavery he ended up in prison. He lived in the reality of his fears, never being heard, never being seen, worthless and low. Yet, he never adopted his father’s acceptance of the worst case scenario. In all circumstances, Joseph adopted what the Apostle Paul would later dictate to the Philippians:
“I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
Joseph went into each seemingly hopeless situation focused on helping others, and so the Lord blessed him; God used Joseph to bring hope. When life becomes based only on ourselves it is easy to fall into a trap of fear and accept the evidence of the enemy of our souls. As a Christian, I believe that we are in daily warfare, and only through the steadfast love of Christ can we live fearless and free from deception. Joseph, after living in the reality of each of his fears, gives the answer to his brothers as to why he never gave up, “You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people.” God's truth was always plainer to Joseph than the false evidence in front of him.
We cannot expect a media that is built on volatile headlines to change its ways, but we can learn as individuals from these cases. When your worst fear seems realized, take a step back and question it. If we continue to promote a reactive culture, we set ourselves up for more false narratives that will divide us as a nation and as individuals. We will not always see the truth of a situation within our desired timeline; however, when our focus becomes about building bridges rather than burning them there is a chance for unity and growth in America. Don’t be a swindler like Jussie, don’t be sidetracked like Jacob, but be steadfast like Joseph.