In the Bible, the idea of brother killing brother comes up numerous times. The first time was with the two sons of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel. Cain becomes jealous of Abel so he takes him to the field and kills him. The next time we see this re-occurring theme is with the sons of Isaac, Jacob and Esau. This time, brother is not killing brother, but stealing and hurting his brother. Isaac gives orders to his favorite son, Esau, and if he completes them he will be blessed. Jacob tricks Isaac into thinking he is Esau and he gets blessed. When people see situations with brother killing brother, most would ask themselves why somebody would ever do that. Well in some and most cases, the answer is jealousy. They want what the other has and they will do anything to get it. They are selfish and they are willing to hurt others to put themselves in a better place.
February 5, 2010
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Anna, many times, brothers kill each other because they have been fighting ever since they were young, and they have never let go of this hatred. They remember all their cruel actions, and they never learn to forgive. This hatred builds up over time and slowly eats away at them. And when the hatred becomes too great to sustain, it must be released. In Cain’s case, he unleashed his anger upon his brother, Abel. His hatred overcame his common sense, and God cursed him.
The most important step in the development of our world is to learn how to forgive and forget. When we learn how to forgive others, we gain a more positive attitude and outlook on life. We forgive more often and learn from the cruel deeds done upon us. The difference between right and wrong becomes more clear to us. Our chances of making the same evil decisions that others have made upon us decrease because we will not want others to experience the same pain we felt.
We must love everyone and recognize that everyone has made stupid decisions. The perfect human does not exist, and therefore, we must pardon others for their malevolent deeds.
Comment by willyd2013 — February 20, 2010 @ 7:19 am
I definitely agree that there is a reoccurring motif of brotherly conflicts in the Bible. Not only does jealousy play a major role in determining hierarchy in the family but also the I idea of envy which in turn causes greed. Like in the story with Jacob, the younger son, and Esau, the eldest, when Jacob becomes envious that Esau is older and therefore gets the blessing and the birthright, while Jacob gets nearly nothing. So he turns greedy and steals both away from his brother. This shows how people began to not let society influence them but instead it let people show their influence on society. This incident as well as the Cain and Abel story set the basis for many other and more complex tales of family conflicts. Although the stories are extremely simple they expose human roots and create a backdrop for future events.
Comment by sarahm2013 — February 22, 2010 @ 4:18 am