subject: Am I My Brother's Keeper [print this page] Gen 4:9 Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? A charitable concern for our brethren, as their keepers, is a great duty, which is strictly required of us, but is generally neglected by us. In light of the recent earthquake that devastated Port-Au-Prince in Haiti; a question arises are we our brothers keeper. Do we have a responsibility to look out and care for one another? Yes we do. It brought great joy to my heart to see so many people reach out to help Haiti in their time of need. Most of us have heard the story, in the book of Genesis about Cain & Abel. It was time for Cain & Abel to bring their sacrifices and present them to God. Cain brought fruit from the ground and Abel brought the firstlings of his flock. God had respect unto Abels offering; but not Cains offering. Hebrews 9:22 states that there must be the shedding of blood before there can be the remission of sin, but Cain brought a bloodless offering from the cursed earth. His offering may have been sincere, but it was not accepted. He had no faith in Gods Word or dependence on the sacrifice of a substitute. Cain killed his brother because God had respect unto Abels offering. In verse 9 God asked Cain where is Abel, your brother. Cains response was am I my brothers keeper? Cains response was one of calloused indifference. Am I my brothers keeper? People say, Ive got enough to do to look after myself. On the other hand, many times we quickly say, Yes, I am my brothers keeper, but it turns out to be more of a duty required; but also a duty generally neglected because of our own selfishness. Matthew Henry said, When a person is unconcerned in the affairs of others and takes no care when they have opportunity to prevent hurt--especially in their souls,--that person in effect speaks Cains language. Who is my brother? Anyone and everyone is my brother, my family, my friends, my coworkers and yes even my enemies. So what are some our responsibilities towards our brothers? First and foremost we are to love one another - John 14:34 Weare to "receive one another" - Romans 15:7 We are to "edify another" - Romans 14:19 We are to "serve one another" - Galations 5:13 We are to "bear one another's burdens" - Galations 6:1-2 We are to be "forgiving one another" - Ephesians 4:32 We are to be "submitting to one another" - Ephesians 5:21 We are to "exhort one another" - Hebrews 3:12-13 We are to "consider one another" -Hebrews 10:24-25 We are to be "hospitable to one another" - 1 Peter 4:8-10 Cains name means possession while Abels name means weakness or vanity. There are some that belief; I have mine, now you get yours. I want to encourage you today to lay aside the hindrances that are keeping you from fulfilling your obligation towards one another. Theodore Roosevelt the 26th President said: - Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. God loves you and so do I.. Pastor Tammy
