Genesis 39:6 -23

Hollywood did not invent sexual sin. They do glamorize it, romanticize it, trivialize it and normalize it. Sexual immorality is none of those things. It is wicked and immoral. Like all sin, it is deadly in it’s consequences. Adultery is one of the worst of the sexual sins. In ancient times before the giving of the law to Moses, adultery was known as the “great sin”.

Joseph was offered the opportunity to sin. Temptation called him by name, and spoke to him daily. He did not submit. We have no reason to believe his temptress was old or ugly. We know she was available, yet he said no. He said no because of righteousness. To give in would not be right to his master who trusted him. It would not be right to himself; it would betray his own sense of morality. It would not be right toward God who was calling him to a life of holiness. Finally it would not be right to his temptress as it would enable her sin of adultery. To give in would require Joseph to be unrighteous in every single relationship in his life.

Saying no to temptation is not always easy. He had to work to avoid it. He refused to be alone with his master’s wife. He attempted to avoid her wherever possible. On the final day when she trapped Joseph in the house along, he fled.

Saying no to temptation was costly. He went from having his master’s trust to experiencing his master’s anger. He went from being the overseer of the household to being a prisoner in the Kings’ prison. He did lose a lot, but he did not lose the most important thing. He did not lose his righteousness. He did not lose his self-respect. He did not lose his relationship with God, and he did not lose God’s presence and blessing. Saying no to temptation can be costly but it is never as costly as saying yes.