Genesis 41:1: Can't We Speed Things Up Here? (Or, Two Years is Too Long)

“Second fiddle! Without a doubt. I can get any number to play first violin, but to find one who plays second violin with as much enthusiasm is a real problem.  Of course, second French horn or second flute would be similar.  And yet, if no one plays second fiddle, we have no harmony.” - Leonard Bernstein, when asked the most difficult instrument to play.

Jesus challenges how we work as an employee. Under workplace stress, the character of Jesus in us comes out...or not. For the second time in software engineering career, I am a manager. I didn't do so well the first time, several years ago, and my manager removed that part of my job. Many times I have reflected on what happened and asked God to teach me. This is the second time he's asked me to do something a second time, but more on that another day.

God challenged me, first, to be a good worker under for a manager. He did this in my roles as a senior engineer and a church leader. You get along with some; you don't get along with others. Sometimes you get to choose who you report to and then regret it. Other times you don't get to choose who you report to and then find it was a blessing. One thing is true: Under God's superintending hand, each has taught me something God wanted me to hear.

Also, during this period, I found a book, Leading from the Second Chair, that helped to clarify my thinking about what it means to support a leader or manager in both church and non-church settings. In particular, it noted that many of the great characters of the Bible were not leaders, but rather, second-in-commands. Joseph, Daniel, Mordecai, Deborah, Esther, and Nehemiah, for example. Often, they were advisers to people who were not God-fearing, but God put them there anyway.

One incident that I have often reflected upon in the Bible was the life of Joseph:

Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The Lord was with Joseph (Gen. 39:1-2a) 

[Potiphar] burned with anger. Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. (Gen 39:20a)

Joseph didn't have a lot of choices when it came to bosses. After being carried to Egypt by slave traders, he found himself with a pretty good job with Potiphar (Gen. 39). Then things go south and he gets put in prison and he finds himself in a pretty good job working for the prison warden.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. (Gen. 39:20b-21)

While he is there, he makes friends with two important members of the household of Pharaoh, the baker and the cupbearer, who were out of favor because of some court scandal. Poisoning was a occupational hazard for the royal family and these two were at the center of the drama.

Joseph becomes friends with them. While his job in the jail under the warden is ok, he wonders if maybe he could transfer to Pharaoh's department or, maybe, get a parson and job recommendation. So he talks with his friends, but one dies and "The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him. When two full years had passed..." - (Gen. 40:23-41:1)

Why two years? That question has teased me. Here are my reflections:

1. Those were two years with God's presence. In his time in Potiphar's house and his time in prison, the Bible states clearly that God was with Joseph. God is present in these rough times as slave and prisoner, just as much as He is in the better times. Joseph himself reflected later, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" (Gen. 50:20) Whatever my role and whoever I report to, God is in the role with me. 
2. Those two years were practice. Joseph started as a bad manager. His father Jacob delegated authority to Joseph, which he handled poorly. He alienated his brothers and offended his mother and father (Gen. 37:10-14). God led him through his own house, Potiphar's house and then the prison before leading him before Pharaoh. He failed at home (brothers), then managed small (Potiphar's house and prison) and then managed big (Pharaoh & Egypt). He failed with his gifts at home (dreams), used his gifts small (cupbearer/baker) and then used them big (Pharaoh & Egypt). My current role is training for who I will be tomorrow, and what God will do tomorrow.
3. Those two years were not about Joseph. They were about God. We groan with the weight of the wait. But it is not about me or you. It is about God. He is always at work. He places us in a wait-and-grow mode while he orchestrates all according to his will and then, when it is safe for us to enter his plan, he green-lights our next step. Maybe it is about your boss, or your company, or you colleagues, or the community, or your industry--not about you at all--and he is placing you in a safe place, knowing he can trust you, while He makes his big move. 

There is an element of patience to all of this: the discipline of prospering-in-place, growing-while-slowing, blooming-where-planted. We can miss the benefits of working under our current manager (no matter who they are) if we are too busy longing for the next. There is a time for change, but is it for the right reason.

“Too many leaders focus all their energy on moving to the next chair as quickly as possible, and they miss the opportunity to develop their gifts in the current chair.” - Mike Bonem, Leading from the Second Chair

So, as a manager for the second time, I appreciate workers who have that patience. One day, they may surpass me. Great. But we can learn together while they are here.