Christian Devotional – October 30, 2018

Integrity. This is definitely a common word used to describe the characteristics of an individual who does what they say they are going to do. It is a highly sought after trait in the business world. But how do we develop and demonstrate integrity? Joseph found out in Genesis 39: 7-12.

There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?”
Genesis 39:9 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/gen.39.9.NASB

Joseph is a slave in this household. He has been put in charge of everything in the household…. everything except the master’s wife. And now, his wife is throwing herself at Joseph trying to get him to do something that he knows is wrong.

Integrity is only proven through difficulty and decision. You can talk about being a person of integrity, but until you have faced a situation where you have to make a hard choice, your talk about integrity is just talk. That moment of choice, that is where you live or don’t live your integrity.

When faced with a decision situation like Joseph was, he didn’t have time to reason through the pros and cons or sit down and make a list. He had already decided in his mind what was right and why. Notice the reason he gives her. He doesn’t want to go against God. This has nothing to do with offending Potiphar, this is about offending God. Do we focus ourselves so greatly on what God has for us and what he wants for us that we aren’t willing to compromise that for anyone? That is integrity. Making that decision now will result in us making the right decision later when faced with a choice to do something else.