Gen 39:5-6 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
It can be difficult to be the steward of some else’s wealth. You touch it, manage it, even make it grow, and it isn’t yours to keep. It just passes through your hands.
I can imagine what it would be like to work in one of the homes of America’s richest people. All that wealth accumulated, paintings and sculptures, swimming pools and spas, theater rooms and indoor tennis courts, and the food! All right there, but not yours.
Joseph was a slave, and yet, because of the LORD’s blessing on his life, he was placed in charge of this high officials household. He was entrusted with the things and people that were closest to his boss. Everything was at his disposal in the carrying out of his duties.
And his slave master trusted him. Oh, that those over us trusted us in this way. If we were faithful like Joseph, maybe more would be entrusted to our care.
I had a strange dream last night. I dreamt that my wife bought a lottery ticket and we were one of four winners. (What is really funny is that we would never purchase a lottery ticket. We wouldn’t even know how to do it!) We went to convenience store to cash it and found out we had won $500,000. It was put in our account. And when it arrived in our account it was $63 million instead.
My first thought in my dream when I learned we had won was this: What a great blessing this will be to give it all way to missions work around the world. And this is in my dream. My love of giving came out even in my dream.
The reality is that we are all stewards just like Joseph. The things we have, the money in our portfolio isn’t ours to keep. It will all be given in trust when we die to our beloved dog! We certainly won’t take it with us to heaven.
But so often we act as though our stuff is OUR stuff. We too often don’t ask the question of ourselves that I am sure Joseph asked. How can I honor my Master as I steward his stuff? How can I be faithful in carrying out my duties in a way that will honor the LORD?
Joseph found a way to do this and he was blessed even more in the process. He was willing to suffer more humiliation in order to honor the LORD. How far will you go to honor the LORD with your life and property?
The Arnold Journey 