Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Indeed you are

So one of my great pet peeves in life is when people quote Cain by asking, "Am I my brother's keeper?" in a way that implies that they obviously feel that they are not their brother's keeper.

Here's the thing about that: Cain was doing the classic avoid-and-misdirect-because-of-guilt routine.  He had just murdered his brother.  Got that?  If you quote that line in agreement with it, you're quoting a murderer.  The whole point of the story is that Cain was wrong--not only should he not have killed his brother, but yes, he should've been his brother's keeper in a positive and edifying manner.

When we are baptized and confirmed, part of the covenant we make is that we will take care of each other.  We recognize that as children of God, we are all brothers and sisters and thus have a moral obligation to look out for each other.  As Paul put it, "Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ."

One of the most frequently abused phrases in the English language (one I'm guilty of using more often than I'd care to admit), that just grates on me is "Not my problem".  Maybe not.  But perhaps it should be.

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