Envy eats nothing but its own heart. The fastest way to 

despair is by going to the land of comparisons and Envy.

 Most of the time we Envy one quality about a person,

and we presume the rest of their qualities are as perfect

as the one we want. That's usually not the case.

 Comparing one's insides with another's outsides is a 

waste of precious time. Instead of comparing our lot 

with that of those who may appear more fortunate than 

we are, we should count our blessings and be the

 best we can be. It takes a lifetime to do this.

Joseph had a difficult journey.

This young man was hated for being the object of 

his father's affection and for having a gift that was 

given to him by God. When he shared his dream 

with his brothers, he was not trying to set himself 

above his brothers. He was simply sharing and 

hoping that he was going to receive clarity about

 his dream. 

Joseph's brothers did not like his dreams because 

they thought Joseph felt he was better than they were. 

They hated him even more. Have you ever been in a 

place like this? A place where you were not trying to 

brag or boast, but you simply needed clarity? 

In ancient times, dreams were a serious matter,

treated with respect. God often used dreams to 

tell of some future event, or warn people of 

approaching times of crisis.

Those who were able to interpret dreams quickly

rose to positions of importance within the empire. 

 So as the story goes...

a few days later Joseph's father asked him to check 

on his brothers. They were in the fields quite a 

distance away. So Joseph went to find them.When 

the brothers saw Joseph in the distance, they knew 

him by his bright garment; and one said to another: 

"Look, that dreamer is coming! They began to talk 

to each other about how they could get rid of him.

Come, let us kill him, and throw his body into a pit,

and tell our father that some wild beast has eaten 

him; and then we will see what becomes of his 

dreams."When Reuben, Joseph's oldest brother, 

heard this he felt more kindly toward Joseph.He said, 

"Let's not kill him, just throw him in a well out here 

in the field. "He said this because he was secretly 

planning to come back and rescue Joseph when the

 other brothers had left.

So when Joseph came to them, they took off his 

beautiful robe and they threw him in an empty 

well. The brothers must have had a perverse 

pleasure as they ripped the robe off of Joseph,

Jealousy can be blinding.

Afterwards, Joseph was escorted to Potiphar's

place. Joseph started out as a slave, but God was 

with Joseph and He helped him do everything right.

So Potiphar made him his helper, and put him in 

charge of everything that he owned. Joseph, later, 

found himself entangled in a mansion trap with 

Potiphar's wife. Potiphar's wife was the "Cougar"

of her day. She tried to seduce Joseph, but Joseph 

rejected the overtures of Mrs. Potiphar. In turning 

to run from her room, Potiphar's wife pulled and

 ripped the outer garment away from Joseph's

 shoulders. 

 Potiphar's wife lied about Joseph to her

 husband, so Potiphar had Joseph put into jail.

  Occasionally, as we climb up the next rung 

of the ladder we may encounter weak steps

that will try to cause us to fail and fall.

This was clearly an attempt 

for Joseph to do both. 

When the cup bearer was freed he forgot about 

what Joseph did.

So Joseph stayed in jail for two more years. God 

was still with Joseph in jail. One day the Pharaoh

 had a dream, and nobody could explain it to him. 

The cup bearer then remembered what Joseph

 had done for him, and Joseph was brought to 

Pharaoh.

"Can you understand dreams?"  Pharaoh asked.

"I can't, but God helps me." Joseph replied.

After Pharaoh told him his dream Joseph 

explained, "God is warning you. There will 

be seven years when nothing will grow and

 there won't be any food for anyone." "What 

can I do?" Pharaoh asked. "God has shown 

you what to do. There will be seven years 

before the bad years that will be very good. 

So good that there will be extra food for 

everyone. So you should save a little bit 

of each years harvest, that way you will 

have enough to get you through the bad

 years,"Joseph said.

Pharaoh believed all that Joseph told him,

and made him governor of all the land of 

Egypt. 

The warden put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners.

Joseph organized the land 

and set up a system for collecting grain.

The seven years of plenty soon passed by,

 and then came the years of need.

In all the lands around people were hungry,

and there was no food for them to eat;

 but in the land of Egypt everybody had enough.

Most of the people soon used up 

the grain that they had saved:

many had saved none at all, 

and they all cried to the king to help them.

"Go to Joseph," said King Pharaoh, "

and do whatever he tells you to do."

Then the people came to Joseph,

and Joseph opened the storehouses,

and sold to the people all the grain that they 

wished to buy. And not only the people of Egypt

 came to buy grain, but people of all the lands

 around as well, for there was great need and 

famine everywhere.

And the need was as great in the land of Canaan,

where Jacob lived, as in other lands. Jacob was rich in 

flocks and cattle, and gold and silver; but his fields gave 

no grain, and there was danger that his family and his 

people would starve. And Jacob, who was now called

 Israel also, heard that there was food in Egypt, and he 

said to his sons: "Why do you look at each other, 

asking what to do to find food?

I have been told that there is grain in Egypt. Go down to 

that land, and take money with you,and buy grain, so 

that we may have bread, and may live."

People came from all countries to buy grain from Joseph,

because the whole world was in need of food.

  Some of those people were Joseph's 

brothers. They did not know him, as a grown 

man, dressed as a prince, and seated on a throne. 

It had been almost twenty-three years since they

 had sold him, but Joseph knew them all, as soon 

as he saw them. He resolved to be sharp and stern 

with them, not because he hated them, but because

 he wished to see what their spirit was, and whether

 they were as selfish, and cruel, and wicked as they

 had been in other days.

They came before him, and bowed, with their faces

 to the ground. Then, no doubt, Joseph thought of 

the dream that had come to him while he was a boy,

 of his brothers' sheaves bending down around his 

sheaf. He spoke to them as a stranger, as if he did

 not understand their language. 

After a few meetings with his brothers he could

 not keep it in any longer and Joseph said to 

his brothers, 

"I am Joseph!  

Is my father alive?" 

But his brothers couldn't answer him because

 they were afraid. Then Joseph said, "Come here. 

I am your brother, the one you sold! Do not worry,

 and do not be angry at yourselves

 for selling me, because God has put me here to 

save people from starving."So his father, his 

brothers, and their families came to live in Egypt 

with Joseph, and they had all the food they needed.

Envy shoots at others and wounds itself.

 Rather than envying another's good fortune; why not

emulate the hard work, guts and perseverance that 

May we always remember

 and never forget:

True happiness is not attained by things, 

but by a personal relationship with God.