Questions God Asks 05: “Where is Abel Your Brother?”

Brotherhood is one of the most significant ties we have this side of eternity. If you mess with someone’s brother you have equally messed with them, especially their small brother. This is why people with big brothers often ooze additional layer of confidence when interacting with their peers.

I verily remember the statement, “I will tell my big brother” being a sufficient threat to bullies.

Unfortunately, we are confronted with a case of betrayal in brotherhood. Instead of being a source of security, the big brother is the main threat.

Context

 "And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9, KJV)

From our last episode where we dealt with the “Why Are You Angry?” question, it was evident that Cain was angry and wrong.

His anger was founded on guilt. He was also jealous of his little brother. His brother did the exact will of God in harmony with the principles of remission of sins (Heb 9:22).

Cain takes advantage of his brother’s trust. Blinded with wrath and jealousy, he entices Abel to go with him to the field. He rises against Abel and kills him. This act earns Cain the slot of being the world’s first murderer. 

The most painful part of it is the fact that Abel trusted Cain like all little brothers trust big brothers.

It is not a small thing to be a big brother. It comes with a position of responsibility and influence. Younger brothers look up to you. For a while, they wrap their concepts of right and wrong around your dos and don’ts. They consider certain things right simply because they see you do them.

When they see your moral tone sagging to the ground, they can’t wait to be of age to even lower it further. When they see you at variance with holy things, they start to think religion is for the weak. Hence, they can’t wait to be of age and live to please only themselves. When they see you changing girls-like clothes, they immediately start rehearsing.

There is a story that left the world hugged in empathy and sympathy beyond expression. The story I am referring to is often attributed to the Japanese boy named Kiyoshi Tanimoto. He was a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing in 1945.

During the war in Japan, this boy was carrying his dead brother on his back to be buried. A soldier notices him and asks him to drop the dead child so that he does not get tired. He replied: He is not heavy; he is my brother!

The soldier burst into tears upon realization, and this image has since become a symbol of unity in Japan.

Life Application

We may feel excused in this if we have no siblings.  But don’t think about it with a consanguineous mindset. What we are talking about here is influence and responsibility.

Some people are looking up to us in life. They define their right and wrongs based on what we do. The worst part of it is that they don’t usually tell us. Because of our unseen admirers, we must always be careful about our influence on others.

It is important to remember that God holds us responsible for our influence upon others…

“We are all woven together in the great web of humanity, and God holds us responsible for the influence we exert over others.” ―Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions. P. 143

There are people looking up to us and we would do well to help them wade through the waters of life. Unfortunately, many of us have followed the path of Cain.

We have erected gigantic billboards, with examples that are not worth following. By this, we end up misleading those who would depend on us for guidance and light.

To make it worse, we assassinate those who manage to remain on the path of rectitude despite our bad example. We are mad at all who manage to remain sane despite the insanity we subject them too. We whip character out of them, destroy their reputation, and discourage their feet from the sure path! Woe unto us!

 God is asking another question. “Where is your brother? Where is your sister? What have you done?” Come on and tell God the truth! The message for me today is that I’ve got to try a little kindness.