February 9, 2026

Business by the Book

Genesis 39:9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife…

Joseph was a slave, but in his servitude he was prosperous. He was given free reign over all that Potiphar owned; that is except his wife. Joseph knew this, he stated as much in today’s verse. He knew his boundaries. Knowing one’s boundaries is a key to life-long success in business.

The pastor of a large church once told this story during one of his messages. His church was one of the largest in America and has many ministries. One ministry of this church is a rather large college. Like any college this one had rules, they had a rule book of student conduct that each student had to agree to live by while enrolled in this college. One of the rules was something about absences, before or after a major break, like Spring Break. If a student missed the Friday before or the Monday after they would be fined and suspended for a specific number of days.

It so happened that one of their best male students had a brother graduating from one of the military academies, his graduation was scheduled on Saturday before the Spring Break was to start in the church college. In order to get to the graduation of his brother the student had to leave on Friday with the rest of his family, which he did. Upon returning to college after Spring Break the good student of the church college was summoned to the dean’s office. The dean levied the heavy fine against the young man and suspended him for the allotted number of days. The reason did not matter; this young man had violated the rules.

When the pastor of this church heard of this matter he asked for the college student to meet with him. In this meeting the pastor told the young man, “As Chancellor of the college I cannot undo the punishment for violating the absentee rule. As a father I congratulate you on putting your family ahead of your college even though it caused you to break a rule. As your pastor, I am giving you the money for the fine.” 

The pastor knew that boundaries were important and he taught the young man that knowing the boundaries and knowing the penalty for overstepping them was a key character trait for a successful life. Yes, the young man broke a rule, but he accepted his fine and suspension, honored his family and his country, and learned about boundaries.

Joseph knew not to overstep his boundaries concerning Potiphar’s wife. He could not do such to Potiphar or in the sight of Almighty God. Know your boundaries. If you are a manager, you should clearly mark the boundaries for your employees and convey clear consequences for overstepping them. Boundaries are like the rails they extend for children at the bowling alley. They will keep you out of the gutter of life.

Dr. William Howe