Sexual Temptation In The
Workplace
(The following article is by John Benton. It
originally appeared in the July 2002 issue of Evangelicals Now and is
reproduced by kind permission.)
It is
noteworthy that the well-known story of Joseph’s battle with sexual temptation
in Genesis 39, occurred in his place of work. He was a slave to one of Pharaoh’s
officials. What can we learn from the attempted seduction in Potiphar’s house?
A place of danger
Why can the
workplace be a dangerous place sexually? Aside from the fact that these days
people of both genders generally go out to work, there are a number of reasons
why our place of employment might present a temptation.
Atmosphere
Joseph
had been taken from the Promised Land to Egypt (v1). He had been taken from a
place where God was known and his righteous requirements acknowledged, to a
place where they were not. Sadly, it is frequently like that for many Christians
as they travel from home to work. Many offices and shops know nothing of God
these days. You enter an amoral environment, where pragmatism and profit are the
only rules. The idea of Bible ethics in business is frequently not only despised
but seen as a positive impediment to progress. An amoral atmosphere in business
ethics can easily spill over into personal ethics and that can lower our
defences. ‘No one cares here, so why not?’
Time
Joseph
was spending a lot of time around Potiphar’s wife (v2). We spend around a third
of our week with colleagues at work. When you take into account long hours of
work, the time spent commuting, sleep and time with the children you may be more
often alone with colleagues than you are with your spouse. People in similar
situations, under similar pressures, spending lots of time together hopefully do
develop a closeness, a team-spirit. But if that closeness is with a colleague of
the opposite sex, it may get too close.
Stress
It
would be no surprise if Joseph felt pretty vulnerable at this time. After all he
had just been rejected by his family and had suffered the indignity of being
sold as a slave. Here he was in a foreign land where no one knew or cared about
him. Confused and hurting he may well have felt the need for some affection and
tenderness. Despite their controlled exterior, the workplace is a place where
people often get hurt emotionally. Targets are not met and the boss gives you a
hard time. You miss out on that promotion. You have a bad day and are made to
look dumb by someone who is your junior. The competition and stress of the
business world can leave people lonely, tired and vulnerable. And that is just
the time where we might long for consolation from ‘someone who understands.’
Except that someone might be a colleague rather than your spouse.
Authority
With
the current awareness of sexual harassment in our culture, perhaps this is not
the problem it once was. But here we find Joseph being asked for sexual favours
by a superior, Potiphar’s wife. She was someone who could put in a good word for
him or get him sacked, v7, 10, 11. The workplace always has a power structure
that can be misused to bring sexual pressure to bear.
These factors
are worth contemplation. Perhaps the relationships in your office or shop or
whatever are good and right. But do not be naive.
Taking steps
What can we do
to protect ourselves from sexual temptation at work? Some ideas present
themselves from the story of Joseph.
1. Be an
up-front Christian
Even though
Joseph was a slave he witnessed to his faith in God, v9. That did not put off
Potiphar’s wife, but it might put off some people from making advances. Why not
have a Bible or New Testament on your desk at work. It could act as a reminder
to you of your commitment to Christ, and act as a friendly signal to others of
where you stand.
2. Be
walking with God
The
recurring theme in Genesis 39 is ‘the LORD was with Joseph,’ v2, 3, 5, 21. It
was because God was with Joseph that he had the strength and the sense to resist
the seduction when it came. We need to maintain the spiritual basics of prayer,
worship, Bible reading, witness, fellowship and honesty. It is worth remembering
that before James tells us to Resist the devil, he emphasises the need to
Submit yourselves then, to God, James 4:7. If God is with us and we are
with God, the devil flees.
3.
Beware of rationalisations
Falling into
immorality or adultery always involves a process. It does not just happen out of
the blue. Step 1 takes place in the thoughts. Step 2 involves some positive
signal from the object of desire. Step 3 involves the emotional attachment
nurtured by both people. Step 4 is finding the time and place. Step 5 is the
sin. At each point down that deadly path our sinful nature will find an excuse
for you to go ahead to the next step. ‘It is only a thought, it can’t do any
harm.’ ‘We are close, but we are doing nothing wrong.’ ‘Everyone is allowed one
mistake.’ Give no room to such rationalisations. Joseph gets ‘the come on’ loud
and clear, but he will not allow sin a foothold, even in his mind. How then
could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? (v9).
4. Be ready
to run
In the end, the
pressure was such that Joseph had to simply take to his heels, v12. Perhaps
someone reading this finds themselves getting involved too deeply with someone
in their place of work. It is better to run, to resign your job, than to wreck
your spiritual life and if you have one, your family. To run may initially bring
trouble, but it will eventually bring blessing, even as it did for Joseph.
Lastly, if
there are married people reading this, perhaps I ought to address you as the
other partner. Be aware that when your spouse goes to work he or she may enter a
world with its own peculiar set of sexual temptations. Do your best to make sure
that home is the best place and that the relationship with you is the source of
tenderness and joy that it ought to be, Proverbs 5:18,19.
