In many corporate mergers, the top executives end up with a golden parachute; the rest of the employees plummet to earth. Raw deals are often part of big deals. The Old Testament character Joseph had a string of raw deals. His brothers sold him like a slave to Egypt, yet Joseph didn't retaliate when he came into power.

When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?"

So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died: 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father." When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your slaves," they said.

But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended ...