Dealing with Offence is good, but continually avoiding it is better. Sin is like the wild animal that crouches at our door, it waits to devour us whenever possible
Genesis 4:7 (NKJV) If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
Sin, and the temptation to offend someone or to be angry and all that negative behaviour leads to offense and sin to death.
When Joseph was tempted by the wife of Potiphar to lie with her, He didn’t pray to God at that moment or He didn’t counsel her for her wrongdoings, he simply do not want to offend or contend, because he know fighting against temptation is like trying to run away from a sinking sand, the longer you stay there and struggle, the deeper you sink.
That is why what Joseph decided to do is not to offend, rebuke or contend, he simply ran away. he ran away.
Genesis 39:11-12 (NKJV) But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.
Joseph knew that this was a great sin against God his Lord so the right thing to do was to run away from sin. Dealing with offense when we are already in it is good and we should know the right thing to do is to keep being humble and let the spirit fight and not the flesh, because when the spirit is in charge the problem subsided to an end. While when we let the flesh fight, both of the parties go home with a bruised eye and an angry heart.
So in the end it is all the better to flee from sin and offense rather than contend with it, for our flesh is unable to resist the temptation, so flee so that the flesh is out of reach from the situation and the spirit is in charge to keep the joy of our heart and our spiritual
#YouthNotes