Genesis 37
Joseph's ten brothers had a problem with him. They hated him so much that their words only consisted of unkindness. Their actions and attitudes took this course because they had seen that their father had loved Joseph more than any of them. Hearing of his dreams, these brothers began to mock Joseph, and then that led to a conspiracy to get rid of him altogether. His claim to rule over them had been their final straw. They wanted to murder him, but they 'washed' their hands of bloodshed by selling him into slavery instead. The killing they saved for their father Jacob's emotions when they lied to him, weaving an evil story of how Joseph was dead as the result of an attack of a ferocious animal. Jacob died on the inside . . . from a grief too great to bear. All of these actions eventually accomplished their goal -- the ridding of themselves of their little brother for good . . . or so they thought.
The root of their sin was not their hatred, unkindness, mocking words, evil conspiracy, murder in their minds, or their lying. The root of their problem is not that they sold their brother into slavery for their own gain. No, the root of their problem could only be found much deeper than their outward actions. The root was a sin that was grounded deeply in their hearts. It was the sin that was the least recognizable to the world, a sin found in the inner man, but one that God could clearly see. JEALOUSY was the sin that was found in the hearts of Joseph's brothers. Jealousy was their root sin, and ENVY was conjoined to their sin of jealousy. The brothers were jealous and envious of the love their father had for Joseph. They wanted to be the one, individually, who could claim to be loved the most. But Joseph was 'the one', not any of them.
One root sin, not apprehended and destroyed when recognized, will always give growth to many more branches of sin. Out of the root of jealousy grew the branches of sin that could be seen in Joseph's brothers: their hatred, unkindnesses, mocking, conspiracies, and lying. Their jealousy also gave birth to a long-lived sorrow in their father's heart as their lie brought him emotional devastation.
What sinful things can be seen by others as they observe our actions and words is rarely the root of our sin. The root of our sinful 'branches' is what hides secretly away in the recesses of our sinful hearts. Jealousy is just one such sin.
What is the real, but hidden, root of your obvious sins? Chop out that root, and most of those actions and attitudes will also die as well. Had the brothers properly handled their jealousy, this sad story of sin flowing from a evil root of envy and jealousy would not be found in our Bibles today. With jealousy chopped out of their hearts, there is no hatred, unkindness, mocking, conspiracy, or lying. They simply cannot grow if there is no root.
What is your hidden root? Are you feeding it or killing it? Your spiritual life must include dealing with the 'root of the problem' of your sin. It is time to wield the axe!
