Purposefooled by Kelly Needham

Author:Kelly Needham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2023-05-09T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

Great Work Hides Us

Not all great work is seen. In fact some of the greatest work we’ll ever do will have adverse effects on our visibility to the watching world. And Joseph’s story is just one example of that truth at work.

Joseph had been thrown in a pit and sold into slavery by his family. Surprisingly, he found himself in Egypt in the house of Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh. He had every reason to be angry and bitter at God. But instead, we see a young man working to honor the God of his ancestors, even in a foreign land. Many of his good works got him noticed and promoted to overseer of all of Potiphar’s affairs. We like these parts of the stories. But then, we see that Joseph’s greatest work did the opposite.

This young, single man was sexually solicited by the wife of his master, day after day. What those solicitations looked like and sounded like, we can only guess. But we can assume Potiphar’s wife wanted to be hard to resist and likely inserted herself into Joseph’s path often as he went about his work. And can’t we relate to his plight? We currently live in a pornography-ridden culture where sexual diversions await us and assault us everywhere, often when we’re not looking for them. Invitations to indulge in sexual immorality confront us from every angle. And for many, this battle to resist temptation can be all-consuming. The effort it takes to fight sin is costly. Sometimes we wonder, Is it worth the work? After all, who will know? Who will see?

I’m sure Joseph faced similar thoughts. Who would know? He had been cast away by his family, by the descendants of Abraham the God-fearer. He was forgotten about in a foreign land with little hope of reunification with this family. What did honoring God matter here? Why work so hard to stay pure in a land where sexual promiscuity was normative? Staying pure did nothing but make him look even stranger than he already did.

But despite these things, Joseph chose the great work of holiness. He chose self-control. He chose to honor God not only in what he accomplished but also in what he avoided. He didn’t only work hard at what he contributed but also at what he confronted. While he was applauded for his contributions, his resistance to Potiphar’s wife got him thrown back in a pit.

Now, which was the more impressive work? His resistance, of course. It’s easy to contribute. Who doesn’t love working hard at what they’re good at and getting promoted for it? That’s the easy part. It’s the self-control in unseen moments that costs us more and comes with smaller felt rewards. This was the greater and more impressive work. Not only was it a hidden work, it was a work that stripped Joseph of all visibility. He lost his position and found himself underground again.

Joseph wasn’t the only Bible character who modeled the greatness of hidden work.

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