20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. 22 But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. (Genesis 40)
As we continue our journey through the history of ingratitude, one startling fact is how often we forget people - those whom God has placed in our path to bless us - even when it is abundantly clear how blessed we are. These two men had dreams which Joseph had correctly interpreted. The chief cupbearer should have recognized Joseph possessed abilities he could have used. But rather than bring Joseph out of jail and put him on staff, he forgot him. The term here does not mean an absent-minded forgetfulness, but a decisive act. We often choose to forget people and what they have done for us - maybe in a sense to try to forget our painful past. We know God had a plan for this, because when Joseph was really needed by Pharoah, they knew exactly where to find him, but for the cupbearer, it really was his loss to not bring Joseph along. He could have had so much more than the "finder's fee" for bringing forth the interpreter of dreams. How much do we forfeit when we leave people behind in our ingratitude?
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