And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:
And he said, When all of you do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then all of you shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive" (Exodus 1:15-17, Updated King James Version).
Temptations come in a variety of ways. But the common denominator is that the devil brings temptation to give you an opportunity to sin against God. God Himself allows it to prove our love and commitment to Him. However, it could be very dicey when temptations come in between you and your means of livelihood. Handling temptations in a business or career environment could indeed be very challenging, especially when you are torn between obeying God and doing the wish of your boss. The stakes are highest when your job, your meal ticket would be on the line. When a Christian is being requested by his boss to sin against God, how should the Christian react? Let us illustrate with some examples from the Scriptures.
Shiphrah and Puah were the leading midwives among the Hebrew community in Egypt. As the children of Israel multiplied and became more and mightier than the Egyptians, Pharaoh contrived a plan to decimate the male population among the Hebrews. He told the midwives that every male newborn baby should be killed at birth. But the Bible says "the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive". Notice that it was the fear of the Lord that kept them from doing the bidding of the king. God stands by, justifies and vindicates those who fear and honour Him above mere mortals. Thus when Pharaoh queried the midwives, God gave them wisdom to answer him in such a way that they did not get into trouble.
But the story doesn't always go as simple and favourable as that of the midwives. Joseph's experience in this regard wasn't funny at all. His boss, Mrs Portiphar invited him into an adulterous relationship. Joseph flatly refused because he felt that it was wrong for him to be sleeping with his master's wife. He considered that doing so would amount to "great wickedness, and sin against God" (Genesis 39:9). His refusal to do the wish of the boss and sin against God immediately cost him his dignity and freedom. A case of attempted rape was fabricated and Joseph suffered unjust imprisonment for many years. But because God will always honour and vindicate those who honour Him, Joseph ended up as the Prime Minister of Egypt at the young age of thirty. The unjust imprisonment only served as a route to the throne.
Brethren, you must arm yourself with the mind that you may have to suffer for your stand for God. It is part of the deal because it is written, "unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake" (Philippians 1:29). We cannot afford to offend God and please our boss just because we want to avoid minor or major discomfort. Saving your meal ticket at expense of your ticket to heaven is never a wise decision. Moses was persuaded that it is better to suffer afflictions on the side of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. We must not sacrifice faithfulness to God on the altar of professional advantage or political correctness, or just because we want to match up with a presumed social status. Whatever the case may be, standing for God is always worth it all the time.
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