Genesis 39:2-4 (ESV), “The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.”
Obviously, we know this story takes an unfortunate detour when Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him.
But for a moment, I want to focus on how God prospered Joseph so we can see the big-picture.
Here we read that Joseph was a faithful man of God and that he was honest, even when no one else was looking.
So, that when Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him into her bed, Joseph immediately refused.
And he listed the reasons in verses 8 and 9
1 He didn’t want to jeopardize his job.
2 He’d earned Potiphar’s trust and wanted to stay loyal to him.
3 He didn’t want to do “such a wicked thing and sin against God.”
You see, Joseph’s integrity was absolute.
And, even after Potiphar’s wife falsely accuses Joseph and he’s unjustly thrown in prison, we’re told the “LORD was with him.” And that God's favor followed Joseph, even into prison. So much so that the warden put Joseph in charge of the whole prison!
Now I realize most of you know this story and how eventually, Joseph would be made ruler over all of Egypt and save his family, and thousands of others, in a disastrous famine.
However, this is more than a story we learned from our days in Sunday school… The story of Joseph should inspire us to walk in total integrity.
The 101st Psalm verse 2 says: “I will be careful to live a blameless life—when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home.”
So, what is integrity? One definition suggests that integrity is what you are in the dark. In other words, who are you when you’re all alone and no one is watching?
Like, what kind of television programs catch our interest… or the type of websites we might visit when no one is watching… What kind of thoughts are in our heads? Of course, God is always watching and aware… but we often forget that.
Will Rogers said this about integrity: “So live [in such a way] that you would not mind selling your pet parrot to the town gossip.”
Now, as I was preparing this devotion, I came across the following story the I want to share:
It’s a story of a pastor who boarded a bus one Monday morning. He paid his fare and took his seat, but then he realized that the bus driver had given him a lot of extra change. At the next stop the pastor went up to the bus driver and said, “Excuse me, sir, but you gave me too much change. I wanted to give it back to you.”
The bus driver said, “Pastor, I didn’t make a mistake. I was at your church yesterday, and I heard you preach on honesty. I wanted to see if you would live it.”
WOW! You see compromisers reach no one.
There is power in conviction. There is power in integrity, in godliness, and in standing up for what we believe.
Many times, we don’t realize that people are watching us. They are paying attention to what we do. They may not tell us they are watching us, but they want to see if we are the real deal, if we are men and women of integrity.
Our integrity should be one of our greatest prizes.
Life Happens…
Proverbs 22:1 tells us, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.”
And we must be people of integrity. We must Honor People and God and remember - God honors our integrity.
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