Joseph was much loathed by his brothers, to the point that they seriously pondered murdering him. As I have written elsewhere, jealousy is one of the most vicious and pervasive of negative human emotions, and it may have caused untold levels of trouble in the world, not identified by anyone.
Being jealous of someone else reveals several character flaws in the one feeling jealous, and it may reveal something about its target too. In general, the one that is envied is often superior in some way irksome to the jealous observer, but the superiority or inferiority here are based on performance, not innate superiority.
First, jealous is a negative collective feeling. One presupposition of it is that we are communal creatures, and we have a right to spot what our neighbors are doing, to judge how we feel about their alleged or actual superiority, and then we feel entitled to interfere with them to convey to them how we feel and what we are going to do about it. We may thwart their plans by competing with them, by undercutting them in the community, by destroying what they create, or, in the most drastic cases, even kill them to stop them from making us look bad.
We are communal creatures, and that is the source of our evil, more than our comforting each other for purposes of brotherhood and sisterhood, which are worthwhile endeavors.
We re to self-realize: that is the capacity and responsibility granted us by the Mother and the Father, and we are obligated to not waste our lives, but to get off our hands, be moving and growing. When mature, sane healthy adults are motivated to self-realize, they become big-hearted, and that precludes them from being jealous of success, modest or momentous, enjoyed and earned by others in one's family, community, or social network.
When one has one's business to mind and is minding it, one has not the time or inclination to worry about what others are up to, let alone seeking to discriminate against them for being more successful than we are.
Second, feeling jealous is a very negative feeling. Why do we have to be unhappy because others around us are successful? Can we not make our own money, and hone our own real, potent talents, instead of obsessing about who they are, what they are doing and what they have accomplished.
When we are glad for their success and brilliant performances, that positive emotion makes them feel good, as their hard work is acknowledged and appreciated in the community. The emotions of praise and appreciation are good for us in that we can be happy at their success, while building up our own talents and success. That makes us feel solid, and filled with purpose and worth.
The green-eyed monster is the one to shed.
Let me quote some verses from The New American Bible that highlight the drastic and cruel lengths that collectivism and jealousy drove Joseph's brothers to resort to: "So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan. They noticed him from a distance, and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him. They said to one another: 'Here comes that master dreamer. Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here; we could say that a wild beast devoured him. We shall see then what comes of his dreams.'"
Notice that killing him will end his vision of achieving greatness. They want to kill him, but to kill his dreams too. If self-realization is our purposed for living, as instructed, and arranged by God, then to kill the dreamer and to kill his dream is to commit two grave, mortal sins against God.
If we are blocking the instantiation of God's plans/wished/dreams, whom are we working for, and what nightmares alternatives, hellish realities are we producing? All of this grows out of the collectivist arrogance, and self-righteous jealousy over what the neighbor is up to: that we have a right to worry about what our neighbors are doing, and further, that we have the right and perhaps duty to interfere with their creativity, self-development and liberty, to kill their dream. None of us has the right to interfere with a neighbor for that woman is called by God to self-actualize, a task set for her by God. None should dare interfere with divine expectations.
Now I will show these same verses from the Holy Bible (KJV): "And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near to them, they conspired against him to slay him.
And they said to one another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what comes of his dreams."
Notice the world conspire. They plot in secret against a victim, and he has no inkling as to their dastardly intentions, and that is typical; the Jews did not realize how far the Germans and Nazis were willing to go.
Notice that by killing him, they kill his dreams. It seems inferred here that the group kills dreamers and extinguishes their dreams because without an alternative high goal to work towards there is no need to amount to anything or to remind the world and themselves as to how mediocre they are.
Then they compound their hatred, their conspiring, their planned murdered, by plotting to lie about their foul deed, so that their father and Father will not punish them for their wicked performance. What they are plotting is so wicked, that the ugly truth of it must be suppressed in terms of truth being disguised.
If they were able to murder Joseph, they murder also his dream God's plans for Joseph, and they murder the introduction and expansion of truthfulness at work in the world. Everything we do in life ripples out, and their jealousy and plotted murder are not isolated wicked deeds.
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