Thought for the Day

Verse 23 - This verse tells of the man who will lie and pervert judgment for a gift that is a bribe. Dishonest men do not care who they hurt. They always look out for number one. In today's society, selfishness is rampant. Many people are easily tempted to do things if the price is right, no matter whom they hurt. That is why some innocent men are in jail. They are not guilty, but someone perverted judgment and through lies and deceit they were judged wrongly. Joseph was a man in the Bible who was jailed through just that kind of a situation.

Genesis 39 tells how Joseph was jailed through a false accusation. He was a steward over Potiphar's house. Potiphar's had a wife who was a flirt and she tempted Joseph to have an affair with her while her husband was gone, but he refused. This angered her and when her husband came home, she accused Joseph of trying to seduce her because she was spurned by him. This led to Joseph's imprisonment because of her false accusations. However, he refused to become bitter, even as he suffered in prison. He used that time to get closer to God; and in time, the Lord made a way for his release and promotion to the second highest position in Egypt as Pharaoh's right-hand man (Genesis 39:7-21). God blessed Joseph because of his attitude. His experiences trained him to be trusted with the leadership of an entire country. This was in accordance with God's plan to save many lives through him (Genesis 45:4-8). This should be an encouragement to all who are in prisons of any kind, physical, mental, emotional, financial, etc. God can make any evil in our lives work for our own good and the good of others when He brings us out of our prisons. He is able to honor us in bad, as well as good circumstances, and use what Satan meant for evil to bring good to us and unto the lives of others. "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Genesis 50:20).

Verses 24-25 - Unlike Joseph, self-confident fools do not keep their eyes on the Lord. They do not honor Him in their attitudes or their habits. Instead, they are always "looking to the ends of the earth" to see how much they can get from the world. Many have a wanderlust spirit and would like to roam the world with no responsibilities. Because they do not take their responsibilities seriously, they are rarely promoted in this life. If they are, they will be misled by their pride and unable to retain their position. At any age, they cause their parents much grief because they never truly succeed or prosper in anything they do.