Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

It’s one of the most infamous comebacks of all time. Cain, son of Adam and Eve, has
just killed his brother, Abel, out of jealousy and anger for God approving and accepting
Abel’s sacrifices and not Cain’s.

“Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ ‘I don’t know,’ he replied.
‘Am I my brother’s keeper?”” Genesis 4:9

Why does Cain ask, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Is Cain’s response as callous and
sarcastic as it appears? And does God expect and require us to be our brother’s
keeper?

God did indeed expect Cain to be responsible for his brother, as God also expects us
all to be looking out for each other. At creation, God commanded Adam and Eve to
care for the earth and everything upon it. Since then He has consistently repeated this
command. Love others. Care for others. Provide for others. Serve others.

How far should we go in fulfilling this command? For that answer we look to our Savior
Jesus and his heart, mind, and purpose as Paul spoke of:
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will
scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would
dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us. “(Romans 5:6-8)

Jesus taught of this principle in the parable of the sheep and goats: “Whatever you did
for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew
25:40).

And, in turn, “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for
me” (v. 45).

The command to be our brother’s keeper —our neighbor’s keeper— remains to this
day. We are to look out for each other, to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31,
Leviticus 19:18).

It’s as true today as it was at creation, as true for us as it was for Cain.

Sometimes, we want nothing more in life than to look out for ourselves and our own
interests. We can grow selfish, angry or greedy by thinking more of ourselves than we
should. We need to realize that all we have—our time, our possessions, our life
itself—are a gift from God. What we do for others reaches far and wide and has an
impact beyond ourselves. Let us commit ourselves to the needs and interests of
others and above all to the saving of their souls found in the Gospel message of
Jesus.
– Steve Ledford