What is difficult for me as a pastor to pastor is to see various leaders lose their ministries because they have fallen to temptation. In my recent study of Joseph I was impressed by this young man's integrity in the incident with Potipher's wife. As I was reading Swindol's take on this incident I was impressed by his 4 requirements that we must meet in order to resist temptation. So here they are:
1. You must not be weakened by your situation. Often when we are the most trusted, respected, and secure in our situation we can be blindsided by temptation. It is not always when we are tired, vulnerable and burned out.
2. You must not be deceived by the persuasion. There are many rationalizations that become very persuasive in our minds to deceive us. The most common rationalization: "Just this once,", or "Who will ever find out?" "Isn't that what grace is all about?"
3. You must not be gentle with your emotions. In times of temptation our emotions try to dictate our behavior. It is in those times we need to keep them in check the most.
4. You must not be confused with immediate results. Just like Joseph, when we take the high road there may be some immediate consequences. The immediate results on the other hand can be very satisfying for the moment but in the long run bring grave consequences.
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