Bad Attitudes Lead to Wrong Actions

"When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him."  Genesis 37:4

In the story of Joseph we see the undesirable characteristic of favoritism, which had been passed down in his family from one generation to another.  Isaac was partial to his son Esau, while his wife Rebekah loved their son Jacob more.  Rachel was Jacob's favorite wife, and Joseph, her first born, was obviously Jacob's favorite son.

For parents of more than one child, it is quite easy to imagine the sibling rivalry which would take place among twelve brothers.   Boys are so competitive anyway, and apparently they all vied for their father's attention and approval.  Joseph's brothers hated Joseph because Jacob so openly favored him and gave him, and him alone, a special coat as a symbol of his affection.  Favoritism led to jealousy, and jealousy led to hatred.

Joseph wasn't very tactful in his dealings with his brothers.  He gave his father a bad report about his siblings, and no doubt they considered him a tattle tale.  Then Joseph had two dreams which he told his brothers.  He might have done better to keep those dreams to himself, because they only fanned the flames of jealousy and hatred.  In the first dream all the brothers were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when Joseph's sheaf stood up and his brothers' sheaves bowed down to his sheaf.  In the second dream the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed down to Joseph.

Such attitudes as favoritism, jealousy, and hatred are not only disruptive in family relationships, but they are displeasing to God.  Bad attitudes can result in wrong actions with far reaching consequences, and we will see this happen in Joseph's family.  Our actions begin in our thought lives and in the attitudes of our hearts. Ephesians 4:31 warns us to "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice."  And Hebrews 12:15 underlines those thoughts by saying, "See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."  Are there any weeds of bitterness you need to pluck out of your thoughts and heart today?  

Father, in the words of Psalms 19:14,  "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."  Amen.