Brother vs. Brother

by Candace Salima | More from this Blogger

12 Apr 2006 09:00 AM

Hello from Texas! I'm here for my niece's baptism and am having a wonderful week with my brother and his family. As I pondered this morning what to discuss in my blogs, the upcoming Sunday School lesson came to mind, Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors, my ancestor.

I thought back to where my earliest knowledge of brother vs. brother began, it was Jesus Christ vs. Lucifer, a former son of the morning. Then my mind jumped ahead to Abel and Cain, where Cain's ultimate jealousy brought about the murder of his brother, Abel. Moving ahead in time came Joseph, at the time, the youngest of Israel's (Jacob's) children. Because Reuben lost the birthright due to his unrighteousness, the birthright fell to Joseph as the eldest son of Rachel. Joseph, a young man of dreams and understanding of his birthright, perhaps did not exercise the degree of caution he should have. But why should he - they were his brothers!

You see, that's the whole point. One should be able to rely on one's siblings to stand between them and danger. It's the point of being family, not to bring danger, but to stop it. Brother vs. brother has been going on since before the world began. Sadly, we have not learned from experience but continue to wage this battle today.

As a family, adopt the code of the west. You mess with one (fill in your family name) you mess with them all. When the toes of one family member are stepped on, you all come running! In other words, a family is a unit that should withstand all the world can throw at it. Patterned after the eternal family unit, we have the very best pattern to follow and it can be done. Parents shouldn't fight (not always agree, but violent vicious fights are absolutely unnecessary), children should be taught to love and support one another and then supplication to the heavens that they will truly love one another. It cannot always be accomplished, for certainly Heavenly Father was not a bad parent. Adam and Eve were not bad parents and neither were Israel and Rachel. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't do all we can to make sure our family remains a family.

Learn more about Candace Salima

Candace E. Salima was born right smack dab in the middle of twelve children.

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