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Daily Devotion: Genesis 4:8-10

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Genesis 4:8-10    "And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.  (9)  And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?  (10)  And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground."

Because Abel had given his sacrifice through faith, the LORD had respect unto his offering rather than the offering of Cain. This made Cain very angry and he killed his own brother. Anger can cause people to do very bad things. Yes, murder can be one result of anger, but words hastily spoken can also be another result. Words that can damage and even kill someone's reputation can be spoken quickly out of anger. Those words can never be taken back. The damage is already done.

"The LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother?"  We see God asking another question. Remember he asked Adam, "Where are you?" When God asks a question, you can be assured He already knows the answer. He knew what had happened to Abel? He knew Cain had slain him out of anger. But again, there is the matter of responsibility. Where are you? Why are you in that place? Where is your brother? Why did you kill your brother?  Why did you speak those words hastily? What was the result of those words spoken out of anger? God is very good at bringing us to the place of recognizing what we have done.  Cain thought he could outwit God. His answer: "I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?"

That question has been repeated millions of times throughout history?   "Am I my brother's keeper?"  Is it my responsibility to keep up with my brother?  That isn't just talking about physiological brothers, but also our brothers and sisters in the family of God. Though we are limited as to how much we can influence others, we do have a responsibility as children of God to be aware of our own actions. Our actions have an effect on others as well as an influence on their actions. For Cain, his responsibility was to have better control over his anger. For us, we also must seek to be aware of how we are affecting the lives of others. In that sense, we are our brother's keeper.

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