Vice Does Not Triumph Over Virtue

Christ Triumphant - A Devotional by E.G. White

Vice Does Not Triumph Over Virtue

Today's Text: And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison.... But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. Genesis 39:20, 21

The Message:      Wherever you may be placed, you must be fortified by firm principle. Enter life determined by the help of God to cleave close to whatsoever things are honest, true, lovely, and of good report. The fear of God, united with the love of that which is noble, pure, and elevating, will guard you from a dishonest action.... How pleasant, how satisfactory, will be the recollection all through life that though exposed to many and fierce temptations, your hands were unstained by dishonesty, and your heart undefiled by cherishing temptation....      What a lesson for all youth we have in the history of Joseph. Here moral integrity was preserved under the strongest temptations. How fierce and seductive was the assault upon his virtue! Coming from such a source and in such a form, it was the most likely to corrupt a youthful mind. Joseph was saved by his religious principles, which led him promptly and firmly to resist the device of Satan. His tempter, defeated in her purpose, wickedly sought to ruin the youth whose virtues she could not corrupt, and accused Joseph of the very crime he would not commit.... God made the imprisonment of this faithful youth the means of his elevation. Had it not been for this wicked act of Potiphar's wife, Joseph would never have become prime minister of Egypt.      Although vice seemed to triumph while virtue was trampled in the dust, Joseph did not make his lot worse by repining. He possessed genuine religion.... God was teaching Joseph important lessons. He was preparing him for a position of trust, honor, and usefulness. Joseph learned to govern by first learning to obey. He humbled himself, and God exalted him. The religion of the Bible never degrades the receiver; on the contrary, it elevates and ennobles all who accept and obey its teachings. The fear of God is a strong defense for the youth. With this shield they may pass through the most corrupting scenes uncontaminated.      My dear son [Edson], do not get above the simplicity of a humble Christian life. Let the character of Joseph be your character; let his strength to resist temptation be your strength. Your efforts will be successful if you make them in the strength of God. Jesus is a present help. May the blessing of Jesus ever rest upon you is the prayer of your mother.-Letter 20, 1868.

Commentary: My friend, character is not formed in a moment but is the work of a lifetime.  As we face challenges, trials, and temptations, how we react to these things reveals to us where we are in the development of our characters.  If we react in a way that is not pleasing to God, we have time to remedy this by surrendering ourselves to Jesus anew.  As we thus have time to reflect upon our reaction, we have time to work out the defects of our characters with humility before the Lord.  As we bring our failures to Him, He will take our failures and mold for us future victory. In this work of character development, we cannot compromise with sin in any way, for sin indulged corrupts the soul.  There will be many people in the last days who desired to be saved, but were not willing to make a full surrender of their lives to God.  They compromised with sin here and there and as such were corrupted by its influence, never really surrendering their hearts to the Lord.  In the day of judgment they will say "Lord, Lord", but the judge of all things will say "I knew you not" (Luke 13:25). Each trial and test that we go through today will strengthen us for those to come.  Just as quizzes prepares the student for the test and the tests prepares them for the final exam, so too will the trying of our faith prepare us to stand firm for Jesus in the last days. In the last days all will be tested to see if their characters are truly fashioned after Jesus Christ.  To see if Jesus is living within our hearts.  Only those who have made it a habit to daily surrender their lives to Christ will be able to stand in that day.  Those who have made it a habit to compromise with sin, will compromise their salvation when the final test comes to them. My friend, it may seem like a small thing to compromise with sin, but no one can partake of sin in any degree and not be tainted by its unholy influence.  When we stand true in the small areas of life, we are preparing ourselves to stand true for God when it matters most.  "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." (Luke 16:10). May you be faithful in Jesus today. God bless,

Video of the Week The Final Protest - Who Will You Worship This is the first in a series of videos. The Final protest is dedicated to showing that the foundation for the Ecumenical Movement, the Trinity, is not the true God of the Bible. We invite everyone to come and see for themselves and discover the beautiful truth of a Father and a Son.