AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER? SCRIPTURE TEXT: Gen. 4:9 ME: Once again, good morning church. This morning the Spirit of God is bringing another focal point in our Christian faith our way; who we are to our brothers. Sometimes I find myself wondering how to respond to the situation in my relationship with other people (friends and acquaintances). At the beginning of my Christian transformation, I had difficulty fitting others into my daily agenda, a situation where I didn't know what to do, whether to express more love to them or less. I tend to put myself above others. However, whatever direction I pursue, I have no excuse for being wrong. WE: I imagine you've found yourself in situations where even you weren't sure what to do; a state of confusion. God asked Cain a question in our text after he did something terribly wrong to his brother Abel: “Where is Abel your brother?” Cain's response revealed his depravity, selfishness, and hypocrisy because he claimed ignorance of Abel's whereabouts while asking "Am I my brother's keeper?" Even though there was no guidance or written commandment at that time, Cain had no excuse or moral right because God's commandment was written on his heart. He therefore contradicted God's commandment when he killed Abel. And he was punished severely because of his evil act. Just like Abel (like me), you have no excuse not to get on the right path in your relationship and what you do with others. We have the responsibility to be our brothers' keepers. We must do everything in our power and within our sphere of influence to preserve and protect the life of our brother or sister, physically and spiritually. Although Cain advocated ignorance, we cannot do the same... middle of the paper... lest you be judges' (Matthew 7:1); all the Lord is saying is that we should not judge unjustly. Without mercy and consideration. We must not, in judging others, be harsh, condemn or hurt others, but judge justly. We have a great responsibility both to preserve our souls and those of our fellow man. The soul of every man is eternal. Just as God has saved us at great cost and guards us and is vigilant and watches over us, so we must be ready to deny ourselves and make the necessary sacrifices to help correct, challenge, teach and warn others so as to prevent them to fall back. If others correct us, we should humbly take such correction as a gift from God and not despise the means used. We must be our brother's and speak out the moment we see our brother going astray. I pray that we can never disappoint God.