A Lesson on Temptation

I'm not sure I much care for the stated purpose of the lesson I'm teaching tomorrow. The stated purpose of the lesson is "To encourage the children to keep themselves pure by staying away from temptation and living close to the Lord." This is a reference to the moment in which Joseph flees from the advances of Potiphar's wife. Yet, while that is a critical moment in the story, it is only one moment.

The rest of Joseph's story is about diligence. He work's hard for Potiphar, and it goes well, until he's sent to jail. Then he works hard again in prison, and it gets him nowhere until the butler remembers him two years after he helped him. And then he works hard for Pharaoh and ends up saving multiple countries from starvation. Through it all, Joseph works hard, regardless of his circumstances.

A large part of me is tempted to reuse the purpose from the last lesson, which was "To teach the children that even though we may not always be able to control the things that happen to us, we can control our attitudes." But that word, tempted, makes it clear to me what I ought to do.

While I'd love to focus the lesson on Joseph's diligence or, alternatively, on how his experience and an experience of mine could illustrate the surprisingly miraculous nature of God's plans, I know that the lesson the manual wants me to teach is probably more important. Diligence is an admirable trait, as is faith, but learning a wise response in the face of temptation is probably going to be far more important for these children, especially in the years to come.

So, as tempted as I am to spend as little time on it as I have to, I know that I have to cover Joseph's interaction (and lack thereof) with Potiphar's wife. At least, I know that I need to cover it enough that the children learn how to resist temptation.