To God be the Glory

"And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.  And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand." [Gen 39:2-3]

Last night in Bible class we were studying Genesis 39 about how Joseph was sold to an Egyptian captain named Potiphar, and verse 3 especially stood out to me.  Here you have Potiphar, and Egyptian captain, most likely a worshiper of Egyptian gods, who sees and recognizes that it is Jehovah that has blessed Joseph and made him prosperous.  Have you ever stopped to wonder why Potiphar attributed Joseph's success to Jehovah God rather than to his gods or just luck?  It is my belief that Joseph lived in such a way that it was evident that God was with him, and that it was made known to others.

Consider what happens in the next chapter when Joseph is thrown into jail and two servants of Pharaoh ask him to interpret their dreams.  "And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you." [Gen 40:8]  Joseph offered to interpret their dreams, but not before claiming that the ability to do so belonged to God.  He could have simply told them "Yeah, I can do it," but instead he gives God the credit.

We do God an injustice when we don't give Him credit for the many blessings and opportunities to help others that we have.  It may not be our intention to take all the credit, but like Joseph we need to live in such a way that our faith is evident to those we encounter, so that they see that it is God working in us.  This isn't braggadocious or arrogant like the Pharisees who prayed in public only to be seen by men.  It is giving God the glory for the success we've had in life.  In doing so, we are able to practice a subtle form of evangelism in all that we do by showing people the greatness of God's love to His children.