Are we our brother's keeper? In what ways? Gen 4: ?

Question

Cain's answer to God was so impertinent, selfish, mean spirited, sarcastic! At the very least callous...

Why does God want us to be mindful of our brother's/sister's well being, spiritually, and emotionally. I

What did Cain completely miss the mark in? What in his character was so wrong?

Answer 1

I'm sure his parents asked the same questions.

Answer 2

His heart was hardened with a personal sense of self and from this the door was open for evil, and as we know cain was self-deceived by evil and did evil thinking it was good.

If brother's keeper means to do good, then we are the keepers.

Answer 3

"Whatever you do for the most humble of my people, you do for me."

Matthew 25:40

Selfishness comes from pride.

Answer 4

The story of Cain and Abel may be traced back to the two trees in the garden. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a picture of self-dependence, whereas the tree of life is a picture of Christ-dependence.

When Adam and Eve partook from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they demonstrated their desire to depend on their own efforts to do good and shun evil, and see no need to depend on God's grace in their lives. But their disobedience brought a curse on humankind and the rest of the world, resulting in sickness, poverty, painful toil and death.

Similarly, Cain and Abel approached God in two different ways. Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord, whereas Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. (Genesis 4:3-4) But the Lord didn't respect Cain and his offering, and instead respected Abel and his offering. Why? Because Cain's offering was bloodless - a picture of his own efforts. Abel's offering was a blood sacrifice - a picture of Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross.

So we see a contrast between a person who lives by the flesh (or self-efforts) and a person who lives by grace (or undeserved favour). And whoever lives by the flesh will manifest the works of the flesh, including hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath and murders. (Galatians 5:20-21)

Now we understand why Cain was so angry with his brother Abel that he killed him. The works of the flesh were stirred up by his dependence of his own efforts to be right with God. But no one could be made right with God except through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ, that is, by grace.

The Lord asked Cain a similar question He asked Adam after he sinned, "Where is Abel your brother?" He wanted Cain to own up, but Cain answered, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9)

I believe that had Cain chosen to depend on God's grace, he would not have become so callous. But we see the same pattern even today, for those who choose to be religious in their approach to God, trusting in their own works to be right with God, instead of cultivating a relationship based on His grace.

The Pharisees, for example, looked down the common folks like the tax collectors, publicans and prostitutes because the Pharisees thought they were holier than them. In the parable of the prodigal son, the older son was angry when the father (a picture of God Himself) welcomed the younger son home and even threw a party for him. The older son was bitter because he thought he had worked hard serving his father and never transgressed his commandment all these years, and yet his father never gave him a young goat, that he might make merry with his friends. (Luke 15) But sadly, the older brother did not see the goodness and grace of his father's heart. He had been working so hard to earn his favour, when in fact he could have freely asked his father what he wanted. Indeed, the father replied, "Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours."

Similarly, in the body of Christ, we need to remain in our dependence on God's grace and see our brothers and sisters as equal. Though each of us has different gifts and functions - some are more prominent than others - we are equally precious and important in God's eyes. All of us are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, and no one is more holy or more righteous than another. We have an equal standing in Christ, and we have the same measure of righteousness that Jesus has before the Father's throne. :)

Finally, when one member of the body suffers, the rest of the body suffers as well. (1 Corinthians 12:26) Therefore, we need to care for one another, as to the Lord. I am still learning the importance of this truth. :)

Thanks for the question, sister Karen. God bless you.