THE POWER OF FINANCIAL INTEGRITY
Genesis 39:1-6
Today we live in a world where integrity has become a scarce commodity, even among believers. Cases abound of so called believers embezzling funds belonging to organisations they work for or even churches where they serve as treasurers or any other position where they have access to money. Gone were the days when positions such as treasurer in organisations and groups were assigned exclusively to “S. U’s”, as believers were then called. But it is no longer so.
However, there is much more to be gained when we live a life of integrity than otherwise. This is because what you refuse to take illegally today prepares the ground for what is legally yours tomorrow. Positive example has been confirmed to be an effective communicator of positive principle. The Scripture is full of positive examples of people who were positively affected by financial integrity or uprightness. It is very important to learn from them in order to live right. These are people who refused to take money or possession illegally or through unrighteous means.
Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat! Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man Genesis 39:6 (NLT). Potiphar left everything he had in the hands of Joseph. He seemed to have told him, “Joseph, I leave everything I have in your hands. You are in charge of my estate. Take charge of my group of companies. Every financial decision is yours to make”.
And you know, nothing got missing in the hands of Joseph. That is integrity. This behaviour of Joseph is contrary to the attitude of the kind of people we have today in our world. You can’t even leave someone with One Million Naira to buy an item and he returns the balance of the money to you. But with Joseph, it was not so. Joseph was promoted and became the Prime Minister of Egypt partly because he maintained financial uprightness in the house of Potiphar.
Make up your mind to maintain financial uprightness by all means. Avoid the way of crookedness by all means. Maintain character. Display integrity in your business deals and transactions. When you look away from what is not yours, you locate easily what is yours. But to be focused on what is not yours makes you to lose sight of what is yours. As you walk in financial integrity, the Lord shall cause all that is yours to look for you in Jesus name.
PRAYER: Lord, I ask for the grace to be upright in life. Deliver me from every crooked way of life in Jesus name.
