How to Be Your Brother’s Keeper

Well, good afternoon, brethren. Good to see all of your smiling and attentive faces here at the beginning of services. It’s certainly very warm. It’s getting warmer by the day here in Wadsworth. And if you like summer weather, this is the weather for you. I’d like to start out by asking for a show of hands. I’ll ask a couple of questions here. And spoiler alert, I hope all of you raise your hands for both questions.

So just a spoiler. How many of you have friends in God’s church? Everybody’s hands. And a follow-up question to come off of that, who wants to learn how to become a better friend? All right. We have the right crowd today. Now, preparing this message, I’ve been thinking back over the years, thinking about some of the friends I had way back when I was in elementary school, back in the Stone Ages, what it seems like. And in second grade, I got the worst report card I ever received. It was not a good report card. Apparently, there was a reputation, just because I was fifty percent Japanese, that I would know kung fu just inherently.

I had all the skill set. So when that rumor started being perpetuated, I continued that perpetuation of the rumor and taught a lot of the kids on the playground kung fu. Now, I don’t know that they actually learned any kung fu moves, but I know that my report card was not good. I recall that Frank needs to address his attitude. I remember that was one of the things he said. And that was the first semester of the year. By the end of the year, I actually got a good report card and, you know, drew a picture of me talking to my parents and discussing all these antics that I was doing, and I turned it around.

But it seemed like every year in school, I had a different best friend. That was first, like, three or four years of elementary school. And one year, in third grade, I had a good friend, and it was nearing the end of the school year. And he had one of these names that was easy to make fun of, if you know what I mean. And some other kids were making fun of him, and I kind of joined in. And I could tell that it hurt his feelings. You know, I could see the look on his face. And really, after that, we kind of lost touch the rest of the school year. It was probably a couple of weeks to go.

And that summer, over a summer break, I thought about him and thought about, you know, kind of those feelings he probably had when I joined in, supposedly his best friend, and made fun of him. And, you know, that fall, I was kind of motivated to, you know, make amends, but of course, he moved away and I never saw him again. So occasionally, I’ll think back to those moments, you know, how I’ve treated friends over the years. And, you know, sometimes, it’s not, you know, a warm, fuzzy feeling, but I know that, you know, we all grow, and I grew out of making fun of people’s names a long time ago. So I don’t do that anymore, and I’m sure none of us do either.

But today, there’s an important concept that I’d like to describe to you and discuss. So we’ll explore what it means to be our brother’s keeper. That’s something very familiar in God’s church today. And we’ll also talk about ways that we can get better at it as well. So please turn over to begin to Genesis chapter four. It’s a very well-known account. Genesis chapter four. In fifth grade, I found a friend that I remained friends with all the way through high school and even into college. I’ve kind of lost track of him recently, but I see him on Facebook once in a while, and I do say hi and, you know, give him a thumbs up on one of his posts, things like that. But I settled in on one after all those, you know, kind of failed attempts at having a best friend.

Genesis chapter four. And this is the account of Cain and Abel. We’ll begin in Verse one. “And Adam knew his wife, and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.” So Cain was the firstborn. We’ll establish that. Verse two. “And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.” So, Abel was a shepherd, and Cain was a farmer, two very noble professions.

Verse three. “And in the process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord, unto God. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering. But unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth,” So that’s pivotal moment number one, “...Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” So Cain let that affect him, God’s reaction to his offering.

And in verse six. “And the Lord said unto Cain, why are you wroth, and why is your countenance fallen?” That’s an interesting term, countenance fallen. If you’ve ever seen a little kid, a boy or a girl, that thinks they’re going to get ice cream and they don’t get ice cream, you see a countenance fall. You see their face drop.

But that was Cain’s reaction. It was very childish, wasn’t it? His countenance fell when God didn’t approve of his offering. Verse seven. “If you do well, shall you not be accepted? And if you do not well, sin lies at the door.” And Satan’s always looking for that foot he can get into the door, so he can get into your life. “And to you shall be his desire, and you shall rule over him.”

Verse eight. “And Cain talked with Abel, his brother, and it came to pass, when they were in the field,” and this is pivotal moment number two, “...that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and slew him.” He killed him. Verse nine. “And the Lord said unto Cain,” this is a loaded question, because He knew the answer, “...where is Abel, your brother?” And Cain responded, and he lied about it, “And he said, I know not.” And then he asked the question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Am I my brother’s keeper?

Verse ten. “And he said, what have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries unto me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened her mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.” Verse twelve. “When you till the ground, it shall not henceforth yield to you her strength. A fugitive and a vagabond shall you be in the earth.” Verse thirteen. “And Cain said unto the Lord, my punishment is greater than I can bear.” So that didn’t turn out very well for him, did it? Or for his brother, for that matter.

Now, if we look back at verse nine, and look at that question again, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” That word “keeper,” the definition is to hedge about, to guard, to protect, to attend to, to be circumspect, take heed, look narrowly, so you’re focused on that brother or sister, that one individual. Preserve, regard, save, self, or watchman. So you’re supposed to watch over. And that didn’t happen, did it? So we can turn to Hebrews chapter eleven for a little more context. Go to the New Testament now.

Hebrews chapter eleven. Read one verse here, verse four. This is the faith chapter, of course. Hebrews eleven, and verse four. “By faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and by it, he being dead, yet speaks.” So Abel lives on through his example, doesn’t he? In Hebrews eleven here. But Cain also lives on through his example, back in Genesis.

So there’s two things that happen here. Cain’s offering, what was it like? And if we go back and look at Genesis chapter four and verse three, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground. Didn’t say anything about the quality of what he brought, did he? So maybe he didn’t take very much time collecting his offering. Is that potentially what happened? And then it describes Abel in verse four, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof. So he gave thought to his offering, didn’t he? And he was concerned about what God wanted. He wanted to bring his best before God.

So Cain’s offering lacked faith. That’s why he’s not recorded in that faith chapter in a positive light. And Abel’s was a righteous offering. So that’s a conclusion we can make, and that’s easy to see. But the bigger picture here is that Cain was negligent in being his brother’s keeper. He was negligent taking care of what he should have been taking care of. God asked that question. He asked that question of Cain, “Where’s Abel, your brother?” And of course, his reaction was to lie about it. And that wasn’t the right reaction, was it? So what did Cain lack? And how can it help us to understand what he lacked?

I looked up the word accountability in Webster’s Dictionary, and it means an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions. So if you look back to that account in Genesis four, did Cain account for his actions? He didn’t provide an offering that was good in God’s eyes. And then he reacted childishly when he was told that God was not happy about it. And then he lied, and obviously, he killed his brother too. So there was a series of things that he reacted to in a less-than-positive way.

And basically, he was saying, “I’m not responsible for my brother.” So when we look at each other in this room today, look at the brethren on either side of you, to your left and right, look at people’s faces. And obviously, we pivot one hundred eighty degrees off of what that is, don’t we? That bad example. So we should be accountable to each other. We should have an obligation or that willingness to accept responsibility or to account for your actions. Think about what you’re doing.

So there’s some practical things I want to talk about today. Some things that you can apply right away. And most of us are doing these things, but it’s good to have a reminder, isn’t it? So practical ways you can get better at becoming your brother’s keeper. The first one is to check in regularly. How can we become more accountable? And the first thing is to check in with other brethren regularly. The friends that you have, the acquaintances you’ve made at the feast, and, you know, emails that you have, you know, shooting messages to people. Don’t just wonder how they’re doing, just ask.

We live in an age where even if you live in Alaska or Africa or, you know, far north in Canada, or any part of the world, we can all be connected. There’s Starlink, is that what it’s called? I almost said Skynet.

That’s an inside joke to anybody that understands what Skynet is. But there’s technology everywhere, isn’t there? And we can reach out, and we can be connected to each other. Please turn over to Proverbs chapter twenty-seven. Proverbs twenty-seven, and verse twenty-three. Proverbs twenty-seven, and verse twenty-three. This is more commonly applies to the ministry, but Proverbs twenty-seven, twenty-three. “Be diligent to know the state of your flocks.” But you could also extend that to say, be diligent to know the state of the brethren, of your friends, of those that you know, and that you communicate with. But we should strive to know the state of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Philippians chapter two. I still wonder about that kid in third grade that I was such good friends with. His name was Steve, and I still remember his face. I still remember he used to get sick and get colds all the time. He always had a runny nose, but, you know, that wasn’t the reason the kids were making fun of him. But I think about him once in a while. Philippians chapter two. And I’m sure we have brethren that, you know, we’ve lost contact with and we think about and wonder how they’re doing. Are they still in God’s way of life? You know, kind of lose contact sometimes, but it’s good if you have that connection with someone, keep it, keep connected.

Philippians chapter two and verse four. “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” So if you think about this verse, it’s kind of two parts. “Look not every man on his own things.” It’s like you’re closed up. You have your arms crossed in front of you. You’re not interested in interacting with someone else.

And then if you look at the second half of the verse, “but every man also on the things of others.” So then your arms are open and you’re smiling and you want to make that contact. You want to give that warm hug to someone that you haven’t seen in a long time. But the first step is to check in regularly. If you have an email address, if you have a physical address, you know, just pop a little note in the mail and let someone know you’re thinking about them.

But the second way is to offer encouragement. That’s the second way that we can become better at this thing we’re supposed to be doing. Now, that only happens if you’re communicating, correct? So the first step, you have to check in, so now you’re communicating, and then you can offer that encouragement to someone that needs it, you know, that support system that we have within God’s church that’s so strong.

Hebrews chapter three. Please turn over to Hebrews three. Some are better than others at encouraging. A lot of times, as far as humor is concerned, I’m misunderstood. Sometimes when I’m trying to say something funny, people think I’m serious. And then when I’m trying to say something serious, sometimes people think I’m funny. So I don’t know what it is. There’s, like, some sort of disconnect there, but it’s just a few. It’s not everybody. But encouragement, that’s what we should be giving each other.

Hebrews chapter three and verse thirteen. “But exhort one another daily, while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” But exhort one another daily. So we have that opportunity today. We’re seeing each other. You know, those warm hugs are being exchanged. Those smiles, those handshakes, and, you know, those conversations start. And then you’re communicating. You’re communicating back and forth, and then you’re encouraging someone, potentially, that’s going through a trial or a hardship. And, you know, that’s part of that profession that we have of being Christians, isn’t it? That’s part of being your brother’s keeper.

We were just in Hebrews. Isaiah chapter fifty. Turn back to the Old Testament. Isaiah chapter fifty. Isaiah fifty and verse four. We’ll just read one verse here. “The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.” So we’ve all been in that situation where it really isn’t, you know, a long conversation, it isn’t an hour long, but we just say hi. And we know that something is going on in that person’s life. We know that they’re going through a hard time.

But just the one sentence, one smile, and, you know, that encouragement can be given, and that can make a huge difference. It doesn’t have to be this huge conversation that goes hours into the evening. But just one, you know, moment of encouragement, maybe you squeeze their arm, and it’s just that moment that gives that encouragement to someone. That’s important that we do that.

Now, the next way, the next key, is to become a trusted friend. Now, when I was in elementary school, we’ll go back to that, because I can’t be prosecuted for these things because I was a little kid at the time.

But I was one of those kids that if I found out something, I would tell everybody about it. I don’t know if you are in a similar kind of situation. But, you know, if I heard something about someone, everybody that I knew would hear about it. So I could not keep it in. But that’s a skill for us, isn’t it? You know, when there’s something going on in someone’s life, and, you know, it’s not everyone needs to know about it. So it’s important that brethren know that you can be trusted, and then I can be trusted too. So if you tell me something, you know, it’s going to stay quiet.

Proverbs chapter eleven. I can’t think of anything specific. I was trying to think of something specific, but I know that I was not. I would just run on at the mouth about everything. And you probably can’t imagine me running on at the mouth about everything, but I was.

Proverbs eleven and verse thirteen. “A talebearer reveals secrets, but he that is of a faithful spirit conceals the matter.” You think of a talebearer, it was like I had a role, and I was just reading all these notes about people off to the other school kids on the playground. But it was a bad habit. And eventually, I kind of got in trouble for it and got called out a little bit, so I stopped doing that. But now that you realize when you grow up and, you know, you have a little bit of wisdom and experience that you want to be called trusted, don’t you? Among your fellow brethren.

But he that is of a faithful spirit conceals the matter. So, you know, obviously there’s situations where, you know, matters are a little more serious, and then you may want to mention to your fellow brethren that you’re talking to, potentially this is something you should go to a minister and talk about. You know, you can bring that up, because at a certain point, it’s above your pay grade. I like to put it that way. But that’s what the ministry is for. They can help and they can direct and they can, you know, bring people out of that hole, that trap that they’re in and help them out. So that’s one thing to consider. But he that is of a faithful spirit conceals the matter. You know, if it’s a private conversation, just keep it private.

Proverbs chapter seventeen. Just a few verses forward. Proverbs seventeen and verse nine. I can keep a secret now, unless it’s about my son. I don’t, I can’t keep a secret about him. So I don’t know if I’m required to or not, but I’ve told some of you some things about him. But we’ll just leave it at that. Verse nine. “He that covers a transgression seeks love, but he that repeats a matter separates very friends.” So that can be a division, can’t it? You know, if someone finds out that, you know, you let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, about something, that can drive a division in between people. So be a trusted friend. You know, keep those matters, keep those conversations private. And then you can be a real trusted friend to someone.

The next step, the next key, is to pray for one another. Think about some of the other points here, they’re kind of building on each other, building up to a certain point. But to check in regularly, so that’s communicate, offer encouragement, once you start communicating, you know, become that trusted friend, then you can pray for one another. Once you get to know someone, once you know what they’re going through, and we all should be doing this. And I know that we are, we have cards and letters that are sent out, and we have addresses that we can get ahold of and send little notes, just of encouragement, and just say that we know what you’re going through, and it may be a situation where we’ve gone through the same thing. You know, those similarities among us, you know, they really draw us together.

James chapter five. Back to the New Testament. James five, and Verse sixteen. Verse sixteen. “Confess your faults one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” And those aren’t empty words, are they? We’ve all been in situations where prayer requests have gone out, and for situations where things positively happen. And we know that even the world knows that prayer is good, to a certain extent. There’s studies that have been, you know, executed where, you know, they’ve found that prayer helps in a certain way, but they don’t really understand, and they don’t have God’s spirit, obviously.

But the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. So those aren’t just empty words. So when you go to your prayer closet, and you have your list in mind, you have those people that you’ve been communicating with. And that’s one thing, is when you stay in touch, when you’re emailing back and forth, or you’re talking on the phone, or you’re participating in a video call, you get updates, don’t you? You know, “Oh, this has got better. You know, I’ve been going through, you know, this health trial, but now it’s much better now.” So, you know what to pray for. Or if, you know, a situation gets worse, you know, that prayer that you give has to have more imperative behind it, doesn’t it?

Philippians chapter one. Philippians one, and we’ll begin in Verse number three. Philippians one and Verse three. “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.” Verse four. “Always in every prayer of mine for you, for you all, making request with joy.” So we should be thinking about our fellow brethren. When we go to our prayer closet, however, if it’s twice a day, or we have a list with us, and we’re thinking about people that are going through trials, and we’re thinking about individuals that are isolated, and maybe in very far-flung areas of the world, and we know them, maybe from the feast.

I know there was a group of North Americans that went to the European feast site this past year, in two thousand twenty-four. And you probably met some brethren that you never met before, and you probably think about some of them, don’t you? But keep that list. Follow up, check in, you know, just say hi, and just stay in touch, that’s the most important thing, and then you’ll know what to pray for.

And the final key, and this is more of an overarching key that you can have it, you know, look back on all the other different points, and know that it’s one of the most important, is that you must be humble and approachable. I’m going to tell on myself again, and I know that you all know me to a certain extent. I have a tendency to have a stone face occasionally when I’m thinking about something, and it looks like, you know, I have them getting ready to pull out a samurai sword or something.

And, you know, I acknowledge that could be a little off-putting on occasion, but I don’t have a samurai sword. When I’m thinking, sometimes I look... I don’t know what the look is, because I can’t see my own face, but, you know, any time I try to picture myself, I just, you know, smile like that.

But I’m not a selfie kind of guy anyway. But I have that stone face, so people can’t read me. And, you know, going back to when I first started dating my wife, you know, I guess I had that going for me, because she thought I was mysterious.

I don’t know that I’m still mysterious, probably not. You know, the veil has been lifted, right?

And she’s got me all figured out now. But, you know, be humble and be approachable. You know, be, you know, engaging. You know, that’s a challenge for me even now, but, you know, once we get in starting in a conversation, you know, I’m not stone-faced, I guess. I just don’t know what it is. But anyway, enough about me.

Proverbs chapter twenty-two. Turn back to the Old Testament again. Proverbs twenty-two. Proverbs twenty-two and Verse four. Some basic foundational scriptures here, but they’re always good to go back and review and just be reminded of them. Proverbs twenty-two and Verse four. “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.” So, you know, that meek and humble spirit, and brethren can pick up on that. You know, when you think you’re a big man on campus, and I’ve met some people like this over the years, you know, maybe in the world you want to be like that person, but, you know, you can never connect on any level. So I know a lot of humble people in God’s church, and I know that’s what God wants as well.

James chapter four. Back to the New Testament again. Be humble and be approachable. Don’t have a stone face and don’t carry a samurai sword. I know that when I was younger, before I was in the church, I wanted one, a real one, but, you know, I never got one, and I doubt I’m going to get one at this point. But I thought it’d be cool to hang one on the wall. James chapter four and verse six. Cool for someone that never spoke a word of Japanese and only was in Japan when he was eleven months old.

James chapter four and Verse six. “But he gives more grace. Wherefore he says God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble.” First Peter chapter five. Forward a few pages. First Peter five. Begin in verse five. I hope these points are helpful. We all need to look for ways to improve. You can never stop improving. You never stop learning. I like to work on bicycles. I’ll never know everything about bicycles. I always look to improve, you know, the way that I can maintain. I almost called it a stable. But if you know me, you know that I have more than one bike, but that’s from years of riding.

First Peter chapter five and Verse five. We’ll begin. “Likewise, you younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yes, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility. For God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves,” Verse six, “...therefore, under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time.” So there’s a formula there, isn’t it? You know, well, while we’re in these bodies, these fleshly bodies that continue to, you know, have aches and pains over the years, you know, we’re supposed to be humble. And eventually, God will exalt and we’ll know everything He knows and we’ll be like Him.

Philippians chapter two. Philippians two and Verse number five. We’ll begin. Talking about Jesus Christ, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,” Verse six, “...who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation while he was here in the earth. He could disappear into a crowd and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Christ sacrificed everything for us, didn’t He? But He lived a humble life, even though He was the son of God, while He was here on earth. But like I said a little bit ago, look for ways that you can improve, you know. Are you willing to be involved with the affairs of a friend, a brethren in the church, even when it’s inconvenient, you know, when it’s hard? You know, it’s easy when it’s easy. You can offer a little bit of advice, but, you know, when you have to take of your own time to help somebody, you know, are you willing to do that?

You know, be aware of the state of your friends within the body of Christ and, you know, know when someone is struggling and needs help. And if you’re communicating and, you know, have that exchange and that interaction, you will. But I wanted to kind of transition to some summary statements. These are scriptures that we’re very familiar with as well, but we have been commanded. It is a command that we are a brother’s keeper. You know, it’s the one-eighty from what Cain did with Abel.

But what does it look like in God’s church today? These are summary statements. That’s what I like to call them. Galatians chapter six. Galatians six, and we’ll just read the first two verses in Galatians six. What does it mean to be your brother’s keeper? Galatians six and Verse one. “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness,” being humble, “...considering yourself, lest you also be tempted.” Verse two. “Bear you one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

So just as Christ walked the earth humbly and He wanted obviously to help all of mankind, but He had that heart of a servant. He wanted to be the brother’s keeper. You know, He is our elder brother and we can look to Him, of course, for an example. But are you there to help? Are you there to console someone if they’ve lost someone? All those things that we need to be doing. Hebrews chapter ten. This is a verse that we’ve looked at quite a few times over the years.

Hebrews ten and Verse twenty-four. “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works,” Verse twenty-five, “...not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another. And so much the more, as you see the day approaching.” You know, the definition of the word exhorting can mean to console, to encourage, to strengthen, or to be comforted. Are you exhorting your fellow brethren? Are you consoling them, encouraging them, strengthening them, comforting them? That’s what God wants us to do. He wants us to lean on each other.

You know, we need just a sounding board. One of the most important roles that you can fulfill when it comes to interacting with brethren is just listening. You know, someone has something on their chest, just let them talk. Talk as much as they need to talk. I’ve had an opportunity to work with CIs a little bit, and just had a phone call recently with someone that just needed to talk. You know, they may not be ready to go to church right away, but they had something to get off their chest, and I was happy to listen.

You know, just learn a little bit about them. I had a tongue twister there for me. But, you know, that’s our opportunity. When we interact with each other, we can learn a little bit. If you come away from a conversation knowing something that you didn’t know before about someone, that’s a good conversation. Galatians chapter five. Galatians five and verse thirteen. Galatians five and Verse thirteen, another summary statement. “For, brethren, you have been called unto liberty. Only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” By love, serve one another. That’s vitally important.

And finally, turn to James five. James chapter five. Read the final two verses of James five, James five, nineteen and twenty. “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him,” Verse twenty, “...let him know that he which converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins.” You know, there’s this opportunity that we have. And if someone’s going through a hard time, and you have that conversation, and if someone is, you know, struggling with something, it isn’t a sin necessarily, but they’re having a hard time.

And if we just have that relationship where we can have that conversation back and forth, and that person can confide a little bit, and, you know, get that off their chest, we have that opportunity to help, don’t we? And that’s part of being our brother’s keeper. And we can do that today after services, can’t we? Before the potluck, during the potluck, and then after the potluck, when we’re talking again. And it’s not optional. This calling that we have, Christianity, is not optional. There’s a lot of things where the switch is toggled over to, you know, the must-do, and this is one of the things we must do.

And we’ll examine Christ’s perspective one more time. Turn back to Matthew twenty-five, as we begin to wrap up. Look at our elder brother’s perspective on us, and what He thinks about us, and what He wants us to think about Him. Matthew twenty-five and verse forty. Just picking up in the middle of the verse. “Verily, I say unto you, inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me.”

So when we are a brother’s keeper, when we have those relationships, when we have that back and forth, when we’re helping each other, when we’re desiring to be a better brother or sister to someone else, we consider that Christ also is our brother, our elder brother, our eldest brother, in fact. And we’re having that same relationship with Him when we do that as well.

Now, we’ll go back to Genesis four. We don’t need to turn there, but we’ll think a little bit about Cain and Abel again, just one final time. Now, what would have brought a better outcome for that situation? Now, Cain, obviously, he didn’t have a good offering. He didn’t think about it enough. He didn’t pray about it. He didn’t prepare one that... Maybe he just didn’t even care what God thought about that offering. But after he was admonished by God, what if he had gone to his brother, and instead of getting in an argument, what if he had asked him, “What could I have done better?” And asked for help. You know, that’s the situation we want now, isn’t it?

Obviously, we’re not going to murder each other. You know, we’re talking about the Old Testament here. But, you know, I don’t have brass knuckles in my briefcase. That just doesn’t happen. But we’re thinking about spiritual things right now. But what if he had gone to Abel and asked for help? You know, I would imagine, since Abel was mentioned in Hebrews, the faith chapter, that he probably reached out to Cain and asked him, “How is your offering coming along?” You know, did he try to warn him somehow? Maybe you should do a little better. But that isn’t recorded. We don’t know that. But I imagine maybe that conversation happened. But I guess we’ll know when we know, and then we’ll know everything.

But that question that was asked in Genesis four, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Hopefully, I’ve answered that question, that we are. Individually and collectively and among us as brothers and sisters, we are our brother’s keeper. In the church, in God’s church, everyone matters, and we’re all connected. When one person struggles, the whole body suffers for it. So the reaction we have is to respond and engage, not to withdraw.

Final verse, turn to Proverbs seventeen. Proverbs chapter seventeen. We’ll read one verse there. Proverbs seventeen. For some reason, I don’t know why, it’s hard for me to get to the actual page in Proverbs. I can find Habakkuk with no problem. Proverbs seventeen and verse seventeen. “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Brethren, offer a little time, a little care, and encouragement to one another, and be your brother’s keeper.