Anger! He smiles
Towering in shiny metallic purple armor
Queen jealousy, envy waits behind him
Her fiery green gown sneers at the grassy ground
Jimi Hendrix rightly recognizes that jealousy often fuels the wrong kinds of anger. Such is the case with Joseph’s brothers. There’s plenty to be jealous about, Joseph is the youngest and the apple of his father’s eye. The little brother is a snitch. And Jospeh also appears to have no filter of any kind. When Joseph shares the dreams about his family bowing down to him, it is not clear from the text whether he is trying to flaunt/taunt his brother with it because they are so mean to him, or whether Jospeh just has a hard time reading the room.
In any case, his brother plot to kill him, but Reuben talks them into merely abandoning him in a well to die of starvation or exposure. Of course his real plan was to go rescue Joseph later, but that part is never said aloud. Well, Judah realizes they can make some cash off the deal by selling Joseph to the passing Ishmaelite traders. Later Reuben comes to rescue his brother only to find that he is gone. Similarly, Jacob is told that Joseph was mauled to death by a wild animal and mourns for a long time.
If we know that something is wrong, it isn’t enough to simply think it’s wrong and make a secret plan to circumvent the wrong-doers, we must be willing to stand up, be unpopular, possibly even be hated in order to do what is right. And by ‘right’ I mean righteous. We cannot allow ourselves to have a timid love, that is hidden and only allowed out when we think we are in the majority or it won’t ruffle any feathers. We must be bold. Bold as love.