WHAT REALLY HAPPENED WHEN CAIN KILLED ABEL?
Now Obama wants to have favored groups, people of color, receive specialized training to prepare for jobs. Funny about that. People of non-color get no such special treatment. Obama uses the biblical sounding group name “Brothers’ Keepers” for his new protected class. In what sense is this a biblical concept?
Did God tell Cain that he WAS his brother’s keeper? Do any of us really want to be our brothers’s keepers? Do YOU want to be “kept?” What is a “keeper” anyway? We should remember that there are keepers who restrict freedom and even imprison others.
Cain killed Abel, his brother, because he coveted his property and his standing with God. When he was confronted by God who asked where his brother was, he tried to change the subject. Cain was the one who challenged God by asking, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The answer is of course not, but he WAS his brother’s murderer.
What exactly do we owe our brothers? To do them no physical harm nor cause them mental anguish; to not steal ANYTHING from them, INCLUDING their spouses or children, nor their property; to not bear false witness against them or ruin their good name; to covet NOTHING that is theirs. There go those Ten Commandments again. God’s prescription for civilized society.
Most of the time we should just leave our brothers and sisters alone. Let them live their lives as they desire. We do have a responsibility to be civil and aid our neighbors in their need. But once the aid is given it is not our place to enslave each other. If our aid includes gifts, it is not up to us to tell our brothers how they must use that gift. Their property, once they have received it, is their own to use as they see fit. If you think your gift has been misused then don’t throw your help that way again.
We are “keepers” of our young children until they are able to care for themselves, and, insofar as we are able, we must care for those who are incapacitated. Again, we only do what our brothers NEED and ASK of us and what will not weaken them.
Politicians and government should NEVER be our keepers, however much they pretend to be the only ones capable of helping.
If you wish to support a charity you should investigate where its money really goes. Several charities have high overhead and leaders who make VERY large salaries. We can all be fooled but we can try to be careful. Many years ago Bear and I wanted to find a group that helped children. We received heart-rending appeals from a religious order showing the priests holding and feeding stick-thin African babies with huge bellies and flies on their faces. I actually had the checkbook out to make a donation when I heard on radio news that the very group I was addressing was facing indictment for theft and that NONE of their donations were actually used to help anyone but themselves.
Do not, as a rule, make charitable donations to a government entity. Find a private charity you trust and follow its record carefully.
We may not be our brothers’ keepers, but we should be generous when disaster strikes and our help is needed.