Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Genesis 39:6-10 (NIV)
6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while, his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” 8 But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
This is one of those stories that is easily relatable. Maybe you have never been tempted to have an affair by your boss’s wife, but we have heard plenty of stories like this. Or we have been put in situations where we can abuse or take advantage of our power. When I was in college and seminary I worked several different jobs. One at a tennis club and another at a small wine shop. I was put in charge of opening and closing the buildings at times when no one else was around. Although it was just a part-time job to make a little extra cash it was someone else’s livelihood. They trusted me. Joseph was entrusted by Potiphar with incredible power and responsibility. Joseph tries to do the right thing. But there is something we often forget. Joseph seeks to do the right thing because he is already loved and blessed by God. It is from this place of blessing that he seeks to bless and be a blessing to others. What has God blessed you with? How has God taken care of you and your family? How can you be a blessing to others?