Strength for your journey
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Meditation for your Inspiration and Elevation
Genesis: 4:9-10 and the Lord said unto Cain, where is Abel, thy brother? And he said, I know not: am I my brother’s keeper?
Psalm 133:1 How good and how pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.
A Time to Think About Brotherhood
During this weekend of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, I thought it would be a great time to focus on brotherhood. Since Dr. King spent his life preaching, promoting, and pursuing brotherhood, giving some serious thought to brotherhood, and making a serious effort to promote it would be a proper tribute to his legacy.
What is brotherhood, as Dr. King saw it? Dr. King was a preacher, and his thoughts about brotherhood were shaped by the scriptures, which teach that brotherhood is rooted in a sense of shared kinship; we are one people created by one God.
Brotherhood is a sense of shared belonging; we are all placed here by God and have an equal right to be here. Brotherhood is a sense of shared responsibility; we are all responsible for the maintenance of the planet and should do our part to preserve it and pass it on unharmed to those who follow us. Brotherhood is shared concern about each other’s well-being; we are commanded by God to be each other’s keepers. This is indeed a time to think about brotherhood.
One of the scriptures that serve as a background for this meditation tells of an encounter between God and Cain. After Cain had killed his brother, Abel, God appeared to him and asked him the whereabouts of his brother. Rather than answering God's question, Cain responded with a question of his own; “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Cain’s question was not just a question for him, it was the social question of all times, which needed to be answered by Cain, and all who would come after him. It certainly needs to be answered by all who share the planet at this time. Martin King posed that question to the people of his day, and we could honor his legacy by confronting the world with that question on this weekend dedicated to his efforts.
The question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” has been presented to humankind in every age of our existence; and in every instance, the answer to that question has defined the age, as it will eventually define this one. However, in this age, if the answer is not the right one, the consequences will be swifter and more devastating than they ever had the potential of being before.
We have reached a point in the life of humanity that the answer to the question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” will not only determine the quality of life on the planet, but how long there will be human life on the planet. For the first time in his journey, man has developed the military capability to destroy himself. So, it is crucial that we think about brotherhood in a way we never had to think about it before.
Brotherhood can no longer be seen simply as a luxury for discussion; it must now be embraced as a strategy for survival. The problems we face as a human race, such as diseases, famine, and climate challenges, are greater than the problems we face as individuals, or select groups of individuals. Additionally, the capability we have of destroying each other makes it even more urgent now that we get along than ever before. So, it is imperative that we think about brotherhood, and rightly answer the question, “Am I my brother’ keeper?”
When this question was asked by Cain, it was in response to the question he was asked by God. The question asked by God answers the question asked by Cain. The fact that God asked Cain about the whereabouts of his brother was evidence that God expected Him to assume some responsibility for his brother’s well-being. Cain asked his question simply to avoid answering God’s question.
We cannot avoid the question of whether we are our brother’s keepers, or what it means to be our brother’s keeper. Dr. King didn’t avoid the question of brotherly connections in his life and would likely admonish us not to avoid it now. He believed that only through embracing the question of brotherhood, and facing the challenges it presents, can we save ourselves and the future of human life on the planet. It was his conclusion, “We must learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools.”
This weekend, as we celebrate the life and work of Dr. King, would be a perfect time for us to reflect on whether we are each other’s keepers and respond to that question with a resounding, yes! Our affirmative response should then be followed by affirmative action that will make the world a better place for all its inhabitants.
William Jenkins