For the sake of my brother

 1 Corinthians 8:12-13

12 But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

Genesis 4:9

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Paul makes the point that sometimes we have to let go of things that are perfectly OK for us to do, say, eat, or whatever is applicable to your situation - simply for the sake of a brother.  Even if it is not a sin or a stumbling block to ourselves, only because we are honoring and protecting our brother/sister in Christ.  This is not easy, and we should prayerfully consider each situation on merit, so as to not allow ourselves to overreact and go into people pleasing either. There is a principle in the Bible that we perhaps should pay more attention to, especially in our day and age where we are so focused on our own 'human rights'.  We have responsibilities too - not just so-called rights.  One of those responsibilities is to be our brother's keeper. We cannot just live for ourselves, then we are on the same road of destruction that Cain was - and we need to remember that what we sow is what we will reap.  

Point to ponder:  Am I sowing "being-my-brother's-keeper" - so that I can reap my "brother-being-my- keeper?"  

How can it be - Lauren Daigle