Authentic: Sibling Rivalry
Siblings love to watch their brothers and sisters get into trouble, especially when it’s deserved.
Especially when they also deserve to be in trouble, but escape mom’s wrath.
A little bit of history:
Jacob and Esau were brothers, sons of Isaac and Rebekah. Esau was the oldest, and was supposed to get all the benefits of being the firstborn, but Jacob ended up with all of those privileges. Jacob bought Esau’s inheritance for a bowl of stew, then stole his blessing by dressing up like his brother for his blind father.
Esau was so angry that their mom sent Jacob away, afraid that Esau would kill Jacob.
Esau got married and had kids and ended up having a large family. Jacob got married, twice, and ended up having 12 kids, who would become the 12 tribes of Israel and settle in the promised land a few hundred years later. Esau’s family would become the nation of Edom and settle in the land south east of Israel.
When the Israelites came out of Egypt to travel to the Promised Land, Edom refused to let the people travel through their country and made them travel a hundred miles out of the way through the desert to get to their destination.
Edom and Israel had a rocky relationship, but when God’s judgment came on Israel in 722 and 586 BCE, Edom had a choice to make. Would they A) step in and help defend their cousins the Israelites? B) offer aid, finances, or medical help during the various sieges of the different Israelite cities? C) sit back and watch gleefully? Or D) join in with the Babylonians and help with the destruction of Judah, the southern kingdom of the nation of Israel?
Edom chose option D.
They took advantage of their kinsmen’s distress, raided the border towns, and piled on to the trouble the Israelites were experiencing.
Obadiah entered the scene to deliver this message:
Do not gloat over your brother’s day,
The day of his misfortune.
And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah
In the day of their destruction;
Yes, do not boast
In the day of their distress.
Edom, because of their pride, would not escape judgment.
I think Christians take too much pleasure in the downfall of their brothers and sisters. We are quick to point out the sins of other Christians, to cancel the struggling, and to refuse to accept believers who fail. You could say that American Christians invented “cancel culture”.
What are our options when a believer fails and experiences the consequences of their sin? We can A) come to the defense of our brother or sister, B) offer comfort and aid by walking through the difficulty with them, C) sit back and watch gleefully while they are broken down, or D) join in the tearing down of a fellow believer.
Often we choose options D or C, I think God is more pleased when we choose A or B.
How do you talk with your kids about Christian celebrities who have moral or theological failings?
How do you talk in front of your kids about fellow church members who are struggling?
Especially when they also deserve to be in trouble, but escape mom’s wrath.
A little bit of history:
Jacob and Esau were brothers, sons of Isaac and Rebekah. Esau was the oldest, and was supposed to get all the benefits of being the firstborn, but Jacob ended up with all of those privileges. Jacob bought Esau’s inheritance for a bowl of stew, then stole his blessing by dressing up like his brother for his blind father.
Esau was so angry that their mom sent Jacob away, afraid that Esau would kill Jacob.
Esau got married and had kids and ended up having a large family. Jacob got married, twice, and ended up having 12 kids, who would become the 12 tribes of Israel and settle in the promised land a few hundred years later. Esau’s family would become the nation of Edom and settle in the land south east of Israel.
When the Israelites came out of Egypt to travel to the Promised Land, Edom refused to let the people travel through their country and made them travel a hundred miles out of the way through the desert to get to their destination.
Edom and Israel had a rocky relationship, but when God’s judgment came on Israel in 722 and 586 BCE, Edom had a choice to make. Would they A) step in and help defend their cousins the Israelites? B) offer aid, finances, or medical help during the various sieges of the different Israelite cities? C) sit back and watch gleefully? Or D) join in with the Babylonians and help with the destruction of Judah, the southern kingdom of the nation of Israel?
Edom chose option D.
They took advantage of their kinsmen’s distress, raided the border towns, and piled on to the trouble the Israelites were experiencing.
Obadiah entered the scene to deliver this message:
Do not gloat over your brother’s day,
The day of his misfortune.
And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah
In the day of their destruction;
Yes, do not boast
In the day of their distress.
Edom, because of their pride, would not escape judgment.
I think Christians take too much pleasure in the downfall of their brothers and sisters. We are quick to point out the sins of other Christians, to cancel the struggling, and to refuse to accept believers who fail. You could say that American Christians invented “cancel culture”.
What are our options when a believer fails and experiences the consequences of their sin? We can A) come to the defense of our brother or sister, B) offer comfort and aid by walking through the difficulty with them, C) sit back and watch gleefully while they are broken down, or D) join in the tearing down of a fellow believer.
Often we choose options D or C, I think God is more pleased when we choose A or B.
How do you talk with your kids about Christian celebrities who have moral or theological failings?
How do you talk in front of your kids about fellow church members who are struggling?
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