Johnny Carson - Joe Biden joke #johnnycarson #joebiden

Joe was up to his tricks 36 years ago and things haven't changed.

The last part of this intrigues me--"We have nothing to fear but fear itself"
Have you ever taken apart famous quotes? Do they hold up to scrutiny? Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous line from his 1933 inaugural speech has been taken out of context so many times in the past 90 years. Like anger, fear is a good thing, when expressed properly in the way God meant it to be experienced. Joseph ran from temptation--he did not stand with Potiphar's wife as she tried to seduce him and say, "I have nothing to fear but fear itself." Joseph ran--he had a healthy fear of temptation. When the money changers had turned his father's house into a den of thieves, he had righteous anger and expressed it in a holy and righteous way.

Fear is good--but when we fear Godly things and refuse to have courage when acting righteously in God's will, then we sin, and this is when the only fear we have is fear itself. Imagine if we used this quote in every circumstance, like jumping into a river of piranha wearing a bacon swimsuit, or staying with Potiphar's wife as she coerced Joseph into sin. One thing that is never mentioned here is Joseph was a handsome, healthy young man. Sex is good--God created it. When expressed within a marriage with one's husband or wife, it is good, it is holy. Joseph had been alone for a while by then, in a strange land, and "temptation" means he was tempted--he found Potiphar's wife desirable, and that's why he ran. One must also avoid the appearance of sin, so besides the fact that Joseph was tempted, even if he had not been tempted, he wanted to avoid the appearance of sin.

On the other hand, don't let this control you. I've gone on vacation with girlfriends before and taken ever step to be sure we were not tempted and did not give the appearance of sin and still, loose lips passed gossip and at one point I had to admit that it was not my responsibility to walk on eggshells so gossips wouldn't have ammunition. Gossips will run their clucks no matter what we do, but a reasonable person will investigate accusations before making conclusions.

Jesus was the victim of false information. In Luke 7:18 when he was asked to his face whether or not he was the Messiah, the ONE who was to come, he replied to John's disciples, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”. All they had to do was take a step back and review what had happened, what they already knew, and make their own decisions.

Then later, Jesus says, "For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops." We can't seal loose lips, we can only appeal to people of reason. In this highly divisive culture, we know that some will lie just to make their own point, even if the evidence is there that shows conclusively that they are wrong. We can only appeal to folks of reason.