Many great qualities characterized the very good life of the biblical Joseph. I personally think he was a hero. His, was a life worth emulating in almost all things. Chief among the things that made Joseph whatever he became, was the fact that he understood that there is time for everything. Not only was Joseph well brought up to do good things, he knew very well, how not to do good things with a wrong timing.
A fateful day in Joseph’s life showed this very clearly. Perhaps what many people do not know about Joseph was that he was a preacher. While he grew up, he tried to influence his immediate environment by speaking up against evil, leaving out nobody, not even his boss’ wife. Before that fateful day we all know about, there had been an almost day-to-day occurrence in the house where Joseph served. There had been moments of preaching and encouragements to do away with evil. Each time, Joseph would take his time to explain to the woman who was obsessed with him how adultery was a sin against both God and man.
“And after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.”
None of the preaching seemed to find a place in the ears of a woman who was madly ‘in love.’ The truth is, many times they don’t. The day then came, a day that could have witnessed the end of Joseph’s destiny, when Mrs. Potiphar made up her mind; no matter what the preacher-boy did, she was going to have him by all means. Hopefully, if he could get him to start telling his everyday story; “Madam, you see…with me in charge, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house…” she would silence him with a kiss and in the process take off his work knickers…
Joseph was not the first to serve in that house. Some of the other servants had come with the same opinion about adultery; only one tactic had brought all of them down. They all suddenly forgot they were preaching, as soon as Madam dipped her hands into their cloths.
What she had never noticed about Joseph was that fact that unlike all other servants, Joseph knew how to do the right thing at the right time, and the same was going to apply to this.
“And it came to pass about this time that Joseph went into the house to do his business, and there was none of the men of the house within, and she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me…””
Her expectation was that Joseph would stand and give his usual response. “Madam, you see… with me in charge, my master does not concern himself with anything in this house…” Madam had a clear-cut picture of how everything would go. He would start preaching, quoting the bible, then he would sit, reducing the resistance, and then she would silence him. Many of the previous preacher servants had at that point turned to ‘beasts’. What she did not know was that Joseph knew his timing perfectly. There is a time to preach and a time to flee.
“And she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me:” and he left his garment in her hand and fled and got him out.”
It is not a bad thing to preach, but Joseph understood that was not the time to preach, it was a time to run. He was not going to lose his life in the process of saving another. Joseph understood that while preaching, he could end up laying down his life on the altar of adultery, and that would have been the end of a glorious destiny, yet to unfold.
Ecclesiastes said very clearly, that there is a time for everything under heaven. Even good things done at the wrong timing could end up haunting a man’s life. Most times, it is never about whether a good thing was done or not, it is always about when it was done. It was a good thing to preach to Mrs. Potiphar, but that day was not the day to preach, it was the day to flee. With her desperation, Joseph would only have ended up sleeping with her rather than preaching.
It is good to mix and preach to people anywhere, but ensure that in the process, you do not lose your own life.
You may be called to preach in brothels. You may be called to preach in the beer parlors. You may find your ministry seat right in the den of sinners. Those are great fields to harvest for God. What you have to be careful about is the fact that even preaching has its perfect timing.
Jesus once had to find his way out of Nazareth. He had intentions to preach, but that day, the only thing the people wanted to do was to kill. He had to flee rather than preach. He knew quite well; there is a time to preach and a time to flee.