We live in a connected world, and the actions of our brothers not only affects their lives, but ours, too. Whether it’s their sin or their suffering, we too will experience the consequences…
“For any sin, we all suffer. That is why our suffering is endless.”
– Wendell Berry, American novelist
I’m not a big movie person, but I remember this scene from Spider-Man, the one with Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker. He’s just been denied his well-earned pay and when he sees his boss robbed, he lets the robber go. Minutes later, that same robber carjacks and kills Peter’s uncle.
Now that’s mostly an over-dramatization, but it is a good illustration. When we let the sins of our brothers go, we give those sins free rein to affect our lives, and others.’
To ignore the sins of others, we assume that the repercussions will only affect them.
I’ve been guilty of this myself plenty of times. I’m too busy to intervene or offer advice. Too self-righteous to help because it’s not my mess. How often have I left my brother to his sins, not realizing their scope and reach?
Suffering is not much different. Often I turn a blind eye to suffering because I don’t know what to do, or don’t think I have time to spare, or spend time ruminating on the “right” response rather than doing anything at all.
And in that lack of response, suffering increases. All around.
We are our brother’s keeper
The idea of being our brother’s keeper stems from a sarcastic reply Cain used with God when asked where his brother, Abel, was. The same brother Cain had just murdered, in the ultimate antithesis of caring for another person.
We are indeed our brothers’ keepers. Their sins will eventually reach our lives in ever-expanding concentric circles. Like a butterfly that flutters its wings in one area, leading to a tidal wave far away, our behaviors influence those close to us and those far away.
Climate change. Votes for gun and reproductive rights. Stances on vaccines and child-rearing. We have all been touched by the choices of others.
But looking out for each other, taking the time to see others’ struggles, both with sin and in the aftereffects, might make more of a difference in the pain we all feel in this broken world than any law ever could.
We mourn those lost to pain. Yet we let the calls for help go to voicemail because we’re busy. The natural world also mourns its losses. We complain of hot summers and natural disasters while ignoring the signs of desiccation and ever-dwindling reserves.
Too often we decide to only worry about ourselves, or those in our intimate circle, letting the rest fall where they will. Is that really how we want to live?
I know it’s not for me. I want to be a person of solace, not judgement. Offering confession, not contempt. I want to lift others up, not grind them down.
What about you? As you walk into this new week, how do you want to live? As an island, or a keep?
Have a blessed Monday!
Looking for more inspiration and encouragement? Try these posts:
Apathy vs. Acceptance: How to Find Peace For Real
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