I was given the daunting assignment of teaching the lesson of Joseph’s encounter with Potiphar’s wife to kids who were in grades 1 – 6. Needless to say, I went back and forth on how to present the truth of God’s word in a way that was appropriate. I never cease to be amazed how God teaches me far more than I ever even hope to teach others.
Sunday morning rolled around and I just plunged into the story with fear and trepidation not knowing how this was all going to come out. I started by talking to them about Joseph being sold as a slave. He was not a servant who could come and go but someone else actually owned him. That someone else was a rich and powerful man named Potiphar. Because Joseph was a hard worker and honest and did every job given to him the very best he could, Potiphar promoted him and made Joseph the boss over everything. So Joseph went from being at the bottom as a slave to the top where he was boss. Everything was good until Mrs. Potiphar noticed Joseph and started flirting with him. Joseph would have no part of it and would just leave but Mrs. Potiphar was not used to anyone saying no to her and she got mad. One day Joseph was working in her house and she grabbed him and told him she wanted him to be her boyfriend. Now this is where an absolutely amazing thing happened. A little boy in the back row stood up, eyes wide, and his hands on his hips and let out a loud WHAT?!???!!!!!
I am not sure what it was that caused that little boy to be so appalled at the situation but that was several months ago and God is still talking to me about the incident. When I am confronted with the suggestion of sin how do I react? Do my eyes get wide and do I thrust my hands on my hips and let out a loud and indignant WHAT?!??!!!!!? Am I appalled at the very thought of sin or have my senses been dulled? I live in a world that is polluted by sin and staying pure before God is like trying to stay clean while living in a cesspool. It is hard to avoid seeing magazines in the store, hearing swear words, or a crude commercial on TV. Nevertheless, God intends for me to have robes of pure white. How is that possible?
A few years ago I had the privilege of going on a trip with Compassion International to the Philippines. We visited churches that were reaching out to those around them with the word of God and with help for their everyday needs. After we had visited one church, we were invited to go with a child back to their home. I had sat and watched this beautiful little girl with a smile that lit up the room sing about Jesus and show me her Bible story papers. I could have been anywhere in the US but then we loaded on a bus to go to her home. She lived in a cemetery. Yes, actually in a cemetery. We walked past gravesites with crumbling markers. We walked past unmown plots that were littered with debris. We walked past people who were living on top of gravesites. We walked past the eyes of men and women watching us watching them. Then we arrived at this little girl’s home. Her mother met us at the door and proudly told us that her husband had been able to construct two rooms for them from materials he had found at the local dump. She was so proud that she had two rooms when everyone else only had one. As I stood in an unkept and decaying cemetery with a woman whose two rooms were made from cast off material from a dump, I noticed she had on a white t-shirt that was whiter than the ones I had folded neatly in my dresser drawer at home. How was that possible? How could you live in this environment and still have the whitest t-shirt I had ever seen? I am still awed and convicted when I think of that woman and all the excuses I have for not being able to keep my spiritual robes white in a sin filled world. What seems impossible – is possible. It is not only possible but it is what God expects from His children. If I am going to be clothed in robes of pure white linen, I am going to have to be appalled at the very mention of sin. When I am tempted to tell just a little lie instead of the truth. When I am tempted to gossip about a friend. When I am tempted to watch something I know is not good for my soul. Any and every temptation Satan throws my way should and must be met immediately with an indignant WHAT!
What lie is Satan telling you today, what sin is crouching at your door, what sinful situation is Satan tempting you with today? I pray that your eyes will get wide and you will thrust your hands on your hips and a loud and indignant WHAT will explode out of your inner being.
Today I ask for the heart of a little boy who was absolutely appalled at the suggestion of sin. I ask for a heart just like Parkers.
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