Ever since Adam and Eve, we humans have excelled at blaming circumstances or other people for our sins -- no matter the facts or consequences. When we fall upon hard times (as interpreted by one's own heart), we sometimes justify our iniquity by imagining we would have done better in better situations. A poor man might steal. A lonely spouse might cheat. A disgruntled employee might envy. A slave might kill. An abuse victim might abuse.
Yet in the Bible and in real life, people commit all these crimes and more even in the best of times. Saul was not abused. Cain was no slave. The Pharisees were powerful. David had a great marriage. Zacchaeus was rich. Moral of the story: "There is none righteous, no, not one." (Romans 3)
If the above is true, then in a culture that often excuses the wrongdoing of the apparently disadvantaged, here is a great irony. When popular or powerful persons -- against whom the cards do not seem to be stacked -- admit and apologize for their mistakes publicly, forgiveness and near restoration quickly follows. So we seek to excuse those whom Ebenezer Scrooge would have called "the surplus population," while we elevate social idols when they sound contrite for two minutes on prime time. Either way, their sin is minimized or forgotten, as are any and all victims of their sin.
Genesis 37-50 tells of a true hero, one who defies much of today's pop culture that harms as many people as it excuses. He made such good decisions that some people might mistake him for being weak or stupid. But his faith and choices ultimately made him one of the best-loved and most powerful men in the Old Testament. Moreover, as a godly husband, he respected his wife long before he ever knew her -- and long after as well.
Ugly Duckling
Joseph started out as a good guy, and his parents loved him a lot. But when he began telling his family about his strange dreams, and when his father gave him alone -- of 12 sons -- a special gift, then his brothers began to hate him. They kidnapped him and sold him into slavery in Egypt.
Now, most of you probably have little or no personal history with slavery. Neither do I. But I imagine some slaves have rotten attitudes about their predicament and seek to improve it via immoral or illegal means. For some, this might involve attempts to kill or escape from their master. For others, it might mean pursuing illicit sex. For many it may include giving up on God.
In Genesis 39, Joseph could have done all these things. But he did none of them. Fundamentally, he refused to forsake God, so he also rejected moral and legal catastrophe: Joseph excelled in his master's eyes, and he turned down a prime opportunity to sleep with his master's seductive wife. Unfortunately, running away from his master's wife got him thrown in prison, as she screamed and lied to her husband about Joseph.
But if an imprisoned slave has more excuse to forget his principles than a "free" slave, Joseph still made good choices. This time, he impressed the jailer, who "committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners" and who "did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the LORD was with him." And after a few years, as well as a few dreams and miracles from God, the pharaoh of Egypt freed Joseph, named him prime minister, and gave him a bride!
Later, in God's further providence, Joseph reconciled with his brothers and brought his entire family to Egypt during a severe famine. Their descendants remained in Egypt for a few centuries until a fellow named Moses came along...
Respect Precedes "I Do"
Joseph's famous story of running away from Potiphar's wife is a model of premarital purity. But staying pure until marriage -- in addition to helping keep disease, jealousy, regret, envy, adultery, and even divorce out of your home -- fosters habits of purity within marriage, offers a great gift to your spouse, improves marital sex, and ultimately shows great respect to your bride. Here's how.
Joseph strongly rejected Potiphar's wife's pleas for intimacy -- not just once or twice, but over the course of several days. "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" he asked her. Afterward, he kept his distance from her. Only later, when she trapped him, did he have to flee her presence. His decision had already been made, and his fear of God won the day.
Joseph's war on sin mimics that of Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre." She also resisted easy sex, and saved the story. But it was tough: "Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation. They are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigor. Stringent are they, inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth?...Physically, I felt at the moment powerless as stubble, exposed to the draft and glow of a furnace. Mentally, I still possessed my soul, and with it, the certainty of ultimate safety."
Fighting hard against temptation shows as much respect for another person as fighting hard in a war conveys respect for your country. Joseph even sought to guide Potiphar's wife in the right path -- but then he quickly left the situation. Joseph's future bride probably had little reason to question his devotion to her. Moreover, God Himself knew He could trust Joseph with bigger things, so out of respect for Joseph's faith, He boosted Joseph's responsibilities in due time (see also Matthew 25).
Now there's a thought. When we remain pure we honor our wife. When we fight temptation we respect our wife. And when we are faithful to God in these ways, we win His respect -- which doubles as a great honor. This should only create more respect from us toward our wives...in a beautiful uphill spiral!
Yet in the Bible and in real life, people commit all these crimes and more even in the best of times. Saul was not abused. Cain was no slave. The Pharisees were powerful. David had a great marriage. Zacchaeus was rich. Moral of the story: "There is none righteous, no, not one." (Romans 3)
If the above is true, then in a culture that often excuses the wrongdoing of the apparently disadvantaged, here is a great irony. When popular or powerful persons -- against whom the cards do not seem to be stacked -- admit and apologize for their mistakes publicly, forgiveness and near restoration quickly follows. So we seek to excuse those whom Ebenezer Scrooge would have called "the surplus population," while we elevate social idols when they sound contrite for two minutes on prime time. Either way, their sin is minimized or forgotten, as are any and all victims of their sin.
Genesis 37-50 tells of a true hero, one who defies much of today's pop culture that harms as many people as it excuses. He made such good decisions that some people might mistake him for being weak or stupid. But his faith and choices ultimately made him one of the best-loved and most powerful men in the Old Testament. Moreover, as a godly husband, he respected his wife long before he ever knew her -- and long after as well.
Ugly Duckling
Joseph started out as a good guy, and his parents loved him a lot. But when he began telling his family about his strange dreams, and when his father gave him alone -- of 12 sons -- a special gift, then his brothers began to hate him. They kidnapped him and sold him into slavery in Egypt.
Now, most of you probably have little or no personal history with slavery. Neither do I. But I imagine some slaves have rotten attitudes about their predicament and seek to improve it via immoral or illegal means. For some, this might involve attempts to kill or escape from their master. For others, it might mean pursuing illicit sex. For many it may include giving up on God.
In Genesis 39, Joseph could have done all these things. But he did none of them. Fundamentally, he refused to forsake God, so he also rejected moral and legal catastrophe: Joseph excelled in his master's eyes, and he turned down a prime opportunity to sleep with his master's seductive wife. Unfortunately, running away from his master's wife got him thrown in prison, as she screamed and lied to her husband about Joseph.
But if an imprisoned slave has more excuse to forget his principles than a "free" slave, Joseph still made good choices. This time, he impressed the jailer, who "committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners" and who "did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the LORD was with him." And after a few years, as well as a few dreams and miracles from God, the pharaoh of Egypt freed Joseph, named him prime minister, and gave him a bride!
Later, in God's further providence, Joseph reconciled with his brothers and brought his entire family to Egypt during a severe famine. Their descendants remained in Egypt for a few centuries until a fellow named Moses came along...
Respect Precedes "I Do"
Joseph's famous story of running away from Potiphar's wife is a model of premarital purity. But staying pure until marriage -- in addition to helping keep disease, jealousy, regret, envy, adultery, and even divorce out of your home -- fosters habits of purity within marriage, offers a great gift to your spouse, improves marital sex, and ultimately shows great respect to your bride. Here's how.
Joseph strongly rejected Potiphar's wife's pleas for intimacy -- not just once or twice, but over the course of several days. "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" he asked her. Afterward, he kept his distance from her. Only later, when she trapped him, did he have to flee her presence. His decision had already been made, and his fear of God won the day.
Joseph's war on sin mimics that of Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre." She also resisted easy sex, and saved the story. But it was tough: "Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation. They are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigor. Stringent are they, inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth?...Physically, I felt at the moment powerless as stubble, exposed to the draft and glow of a furnace. Mentally, I still possessed my soul, and with it, the certainty of ultimate safety."
Fighting hard against temptation shows as much respect for another person as fighting hard in a war conveys respect for your country. Joseph even sought to guide Potiphar's wife in the right path -- but then he quickly left the situation. Joseph's future bride probably had little reason to question his devotion to her. Moreover, God Himself knew He could trust Joseph with bigger things, so out of respect for Joseph's faith, He boosted Joseph's responsibilities in due time (see also Matthew 25).
Now there's a thought. When we remain pure we honor our wife. When we fight temptation we respect our wife. And when we are faithful to God in these ways, we win His respect -- which doubles as a great honor. This should only create more respect from us toward our wives...in a beautiful uphill spiral!
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