She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. Genesis 39:12
You know what I ate last night? Yep – Cheese puffs. I haven’t eaten chips or junk food like that in months. As I’ve previously mentioned, my wife and I are eating much healthier these days and cheese puffs simply haven’t been in our shopping cart or in our house. Our kids are home for Christmas though and while I’m tremendously grateful they’re home, with them comes a different diet. So, last night, as I was sitting on the couch, I looked over and saw a bag of cheese puffs. Sigh. I counted them in my daily calorie allotment, but I ended up going way over my intended goal for the day. Why don’t I normally struggle with cheese puffs, and why did I struggle last night? Because I sat in proximity to them. They were in my house and in my life. Normally, I would avoid cheese puffs, not even going down that aisle in the grocery store. But, if I allow them into my life, they will find their way into my belly. If I desire to avoid cheese puffs in the future, I shouldn’t sit next to them or allow them in my house.
This is the lesson from Joseph’s life in today’s passage. In the story, he’d been put in charge of Potiphar’s house, when Potiphar’s wife attempted to seduce him into a sexual relationship. Joseph’s answer was appropriate – Absolutely not. That would be a sin against God. Potiphar’s wife persisted though and one day, when no one else was around, she physically grabbed him. Joseph fled and got out of the house. He didn’t linger and flirt with evil. Rather, he did everything in his power to run from its presence.
There’s an obvious lesson here for us. We must spend some time thinking about what we truly want for our lives. Then, when it comes to any temptation: lust, drugs, junk food, or anything self-destructive, we must do whatever it takes to avoid those things. Often though, we like to flirt with evil. We want to eat healthy, but still, we keep a stash of junk food – just in case. We don’t want to drink, but still, we keep that bottle in the cupboard. We don’t want to look at pornography, but it’s just too inconvenient to cut off our access. If we sit by the cheese puffs though, they’ll find their way into our bellies. So it is with any evil. If we truly decide we don’t want something in our lives, then we must do whatever it takes to keep it out.