Principle: The virtuous leader trusts that truth ultimately prevails because God is, and God rules over all things, and all things means evil, too.

I will not likely ever outgrow the wonders of the history of Joseph as recorded in the Book of Genesis. Why? Because he was sinned against but overcame evil with good. Because he prayed for his enemies. Because he was a forgiven man and forgave his enemies. Be he was a type of the Christ who was to come, and has come in the person and work of Jesus. Because Joseph trusted that God would do what is right because God is goodness himself.

Text and Context:

When Potiphar’s wife tempted Joseph by offering herself to him sexually, Joseph refused, saying, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). Nevertheless she persisted in her ways “day after day” (Genesis 39:10).

Question: What do we see Joseph do and what does it have to do with virtuous leadership?

• Joseph entrusted himself to the Lord, knowing ” . . . the LORD was with Joseph” (Genesis 39:2, 21).
• Joseph had a realistic understanding of human sin (Genesis 39:6b-10)

Encouragement: It is not hard to find poor ‘leaders’. They pervade our lives. It’s embarrassing–if we even have any shame left in today’s culture–how reprobate many so-called ‘leaders’ are. But it is also true, at least in my view, that we have some good leaders. They are not perfect, of course, but they do exist. The good leaders I’ve been privileged to work for have a reverence for God and treat people with dignity and truth and high expectations. They know that people are sinful, but they also extend trust to others with the expectation it will be reciprocated, and that their work will speak for itself. When that happens, a synergy is created that strengthens the organization/team/company, etc. Joseph was like that. He recognized sinful temptation for what it was. He trusted the Lord to sustain him. He kept short accounts with the Lord. And God ultimately revealed his sovereign goodness through it all.