When we think of life being unfair we actually can think of some contest with another person or group of people in which we consider ourselves at a disadvantage we think is unfair. There are many examples. There are many stages in life wherein we may think ourselves in some unfair disadvantage. When we are young in elementary school we may feel that our size, weight or a host of other physical or mental abilities in comparison to our classmates put us at a disadvantage. This may be the situation in our continued educational, social and work environments. Even in our family situations we may feel that we have been put at a disadvantage in comparison to another member of our family who might seem to have been favored unfairly in some way within the family.
In particular, sibling rivalry comes to mind as a particular situation in which one party feels at a disadvantage because of favoritism which seems to have been fostered upon a brother or sister. Whether such a favoritism is genuine or not is not the real concern that the siblings should have in an attempt to avoid perhaps an even lifelong destruction of any normal relationship between themselves. Determining the relative importance of the favoritism felt bears heavily upon the quality of their lives to be shared in the future. What is the point of developing possibly a mutual hatred of one another instead of just determining that a feeling of favoritism is not worth destroying what otherwise could be a normal and good relationship?
A very good example of how God’s working with families to bring about a peaceful and loving result within the family when discord is present, is the story of Jacob’s family and the need for a resolution of a serious problem of sibling rivalry, taken from Genesis of the Old Testament; this story has been produced in a contemporary version in the enjoyable musical entitled “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”
Joseph is the youngest of 12 sons of Jacob, living in Canaan; Jacob has a special love for his son, Joseph, whom he favors. Joseph in turn is favored by God who has given him a very special gift of interpreting dreams. Joseph’s 11 brothers become very jealous because he is so favored and additionally they feel his interpretation of their dreams puts Joseph above them. When Joseph is given a beautiful coat of many colors, the brothers determine to get rid of Joseph. On a certain day all the brothers leave on a trip. At a certain point in the trip they plan to kill Joseph, but are turned away from this murder by one of the brothers; so they determine to abandon him in a deep well but then finally decide to sell him as a slave to traders traveling to Egypt.
The 11 brothers return to their father Jacob with the many colored coat soiled with the blood of an animal; they tell their father that Joseph has been killed by a wild animal. Jacob was greatly saddened by the loss of his son and mourns the loss for a long time. In the meantime, Joseph is sold as a slave in Egypt.
Joseph goes through many adventures until he finds himself in the dungeons of the Pharaoh of Egypt. Through the use of his powers to interpret dreams he interprets the dreams of the Pharaoh; the interpretation of the pharaoh’s dreams predict 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine. The Pharaoh is so pleased that the dreams he had have been correctly interpreted that he appoints Joseph as governor of Egypt to carry out what is necessary to store food during the years of plenty and provide for the proper distribution of food during the years of famine.
Back in Canaan, during the time of plenty, Joseph's brothers become more and more sorry for what they did to their brother and miss even the interpretations of their dreams which are beginning to come true. At the end of the years of plenty they are caught unawares at the start of the famine and after a short period the 11 brothers are forced to travel to Egypt for food where, they have learned, the Egyptians have plenty of food; they travel to Egypt and meet the governor whom they do not recognize as Joseph. Joseph does not immediately reveal himself until he has tested them and come to the understanding of their repentance and their current goodwill; eventually Joseph reveals himself as their brother.
All the brothers now are happy in their renewed brotherly love for each other; Joseph grants them permission to live in Egypt after Jacob is brought down from Canaan for a happy reunion with Joseph and all his other sons. All is forgotten and forgiven and all now understand that God has used the former hatred for Joseph as a means of bringing all the family members together again in love so that God is able to continue His plan for the Jewish people − a plan promised to Abraham, the Father of Believers − who is the ancestor of Jacob.
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