Envy is one of the seven deadly sins. It is seen as early as Genesis chapter 4 in the story of Cain and Abel. In Genesis 37 it raises its ugly head again. We see again how deep this sin goes as it is once again expressed by brothers against a brother.

Envy leads to hatred. Verse 8 tells us that the 10 brothers hated Joseph. They hated him even more because of the favor the father showed him in the coat of many colors – the symbol of God’s favor on his life. Vs 23 tells us the first thing the brothers did was “strip the coat off of him.”

Hatred leads to overt evil acts. They plotted to kill him and threw him in a pit. The heartless nature of envy and hatred is seen in the next phrase, “then they sat down to eat.” As Mills observes, they probably sat down to eat the very delicacies that Joseph brought them. He observes that “the irony of them (the brothers) taking delicacies to Joseph later in 43:11 becomes more evident.”

It’s only through the intervention of Judah’s greed, another deadly sin, that  they choose to sell him rather than murder him.

Envy leads to bitterness, which leads to hatred, which leads to evil, which ultimately only hurts yourself.  Someone once said, “envy shoots at others but only wounds herself.”

Envy creates Grinches. Dr. Seuss’ children’s book “The Grinch” illustrates a creature who can’t bear the sight of anyone enjoying himself without getting so mad it bites itself..