How does evil slowly become part of the thinking of ordinary, seemingly good people? Even people like the sons of Jacob, the twelve men from whom the twelve tribes of Israel would eventually come. Jacob spent his life teaching his sons to honor the God with whom he had a deep relationship. So what led these men to hatred, cruelty, the desire to kill their own brother, to sell him into slavery, and to lie to their father for years? What happened to their hearts?

I remember visiting my grandmother’s village as a child and helping her tend a large garden. One day, she asked us to water specific plants. The problem was that we could hardly tell the difference between healthy plants and weeds, so we watered everything generously.

When my grandmother saw this, she grew concerned and said, “You must learn to recognize the difference between good plants and weeds. If you water the weeds, they will grow so much that they will destroy the entire harvest.”

Those words stayed with me for the rest of my life. We must pay attention to what we water, because whatever we water in our hearts will eventually grow.

Jesus once said, “For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come… envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person” (Mark 7:21–23, NIV).

Everything begins with what we allow to take root in our hearts—and often, without realizing it, we continue to water.

Joseph’s brothers became jealous of him. That jealousy took root and gradually came to control them. They were not destroyed by poverty, famine, or war. They were destroyed by the seeds of comparison and envy.

They stopped noticing God’s faithfulness in their own lives and became focused on what Joseph had that they did not. Comparison made them blind to the grace already present in their own lives. A person who constantly looks at someone else’s life will eventually stop noticing the work of God in their own.

Today, it is worth asking ourselves honestly: What am I feeding my heart?

• Gratitude or envy?
• Trust in God or constant comparison?
• Peace or hidden resentment?

Whatever we cultivate in our hearts today will eventually shape, and even control, our lives.

Prayer: Lord, help me guard my heart and keep it pure before You. Reveal and remove anything that breeds envy, comparison, or bitterness in me, and teach me to live with gratitude and trust in You.