But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.” Genesis 39:9 NLT
Sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph was taken to Egypt where he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Because Joseph was a conscientious worker, Potiphar put him in charge of his household.
Enter the wicked wife. She noticed Joseph and tried to seduce him. But Joseph refused. Note he didn’t say, “It would be a great sin against my master” but “It would be a great sin against God.” Joseph understood that, though his master might not witness his actions, God certainly would. “Joseph was able to say no because he couldn’t conceive of doing such a wicked thing against the God who was with him and had blessed him so abundantly” (Paul Tripp, Everyday Gospel: A Daily Devotional Connecting Scripture to All of Life).
“Well,” you might say, “I certainly wouldn’t sleep with my boss’s wife.” Or, you might think you are not prone to temptation because you would never murder someone, commit adultery, or break into someone’s house to steal their possessions. Yet Jesus put a spin on temptation when he said, “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28) Because temptation involves every area of our lives that crosses the holy boundaries God has established, even if it is just in our minds.
Harsh? Probably. Impossible? Absolutely. No matter what we do, say, or think, we are not without an audience. Perhaps not a human audience, but we certainly have an audience of One, our heavenly Father who knows our every thought, hears what we say in the privacy of our home, or do when no one else is looking. Which is why we so desperately need God’s forgiveness and grace. Every. Single. Day. He will not hold our sins against us if we are willing to confess them. “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins” Isaiah 43:25.
The bad news: we all have sinned. The good news: God is gracious to forgive all who repent and to dis-remember our sins because Jesus’ blood covers all of our transgressions – even the ones with an audience of One.
Prayer: Lord, my heart is prone to stray across those boundaries you have set for my own well-being. Draw me back to you when I drift away from your commandments. Pour your grace and forgiveness on me today and every day henceforth. Guard my heart, my mind, my mouth, and every part of my being that I might not sin against you. In your name I pray, Amen.
Thought: “When Christians find themselves exposed to temptation they should pray to God to uphold them, and when they are tempted they should not be discouraged. It is not a sin to be tempted; the sin is to fall into temptation.” D.L. Moody