“And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.”
One of the saddest incidents in the Scriptures is the story about Joseph being accused of doing a woman wrong.
We know that Joseph was falsely accused because we read God’s account of the situation. Sadly, in Joseph’s life, he was never truly vindicated that he was innocent in the situation. God vindicated him in the Scriptures and blessed him, but those of his day never heard the whole story.
Accusations are going to take place. Knowing whether someone’s innocence or guilt is truly an unneeded decision that most make. Several observations about this incident in Joseph’s life can be helpful to you when you are dealing with accusations.
First, just because it is said doesn’t make it true. This incident in Joseph’s life reveals that just because society has indicted and ruled that someone is guilty doesn’t make the accusation true. An accusation is simply an accusation. Just because someone says something is true, and just because the news media or social media says an accusation is true doesn’t make it true.
Second, just because the accused is punished doesn’t make it true. Joseph was sent to prison, but it didn’t make this woman’s accusation true. Just because someone is being punished for an alleged sin doesn’t always make the accusation true.
Third, just because someone does you wrong doesn’t give you the right to quit. Joseph didn’t quit even though he was falsely accused and wrongly sentenced to prison. Quitting only validates the accusation to society. You must keep doing what is right even if you are being unjustly punished for something you never did.
Fourth, the ultimate revealer of truth is time and God’s blessings. You always have time on your side. God often reveals the innocent by his blessings on their life in the future. God has a way of vindicating the innocent by letting His blessing in time reveal the truth about a situation.
What should you do about accusations? First, don’t judge situations by the immediate perception or accusations of the present. Just because it looks like someone is guilty doesn’t make someone guilty. Because you don’t know every part of the accusations, you would be wise not to judge the situations by what happens in the immediate.
Second, don’t get involved in situations that are not in your realm. If something is not your area, knowing the innocence or guilt of the accused is not your business. We think that everyone has a right to know whether someone is innocent or guilty, but it does nothing for you to give your opinions about a situation that truly has no bearing on what you are supposed to be doing for Christ.
Third, be merciful and trust God’s ability to punish the guilty party. Some may say, “What if the person guilty gets away with it?” Let me remind you that God always has a way of judging the guilty. There are too many souls that need to be saved for you to get involved in trying to punish the guilty. You need to keep trying to win souls to Christ and let God do His part in punishing the guilty.
