Cookie cutter answers never work!!!

If the HG wasn’t given to us to fix all our problems... what’s the solution???

One of the very first questions asked in the Bible is a question that is commonly forgotten within the ranks of Christiandom. Cain, the Son of Adam, asks "Am I my brother’s keeper?"

Now we all know the story of Cain and Able. Cain killed his brother due to jealousy over Gods acceptance of Abel’s meat offering compared to Cain’s grain offering. God see's this and asks Cain of Abel’s whereabouts... He answers with the age old question, "Am I my brother’s keeper?"

The word keeper in this verse is the Hebrew word "sha-mar". This Hebrew word has a few very special meanings than our modern use of the word. Today the word keeper could be suggested to mean, responsible, or overseer. But the Hebrew word shamar makes this word come alive. It means to hedge about with thorns, to guard, and to preserve, and most of all to save.

When Cain answers Gods question, it might be more contextually accurate to say it this way...

"Am I the one who is supposed to protect him, guard him as a solider guards the King? Am I responsible to preserve his life with my own? Is it my job to save your child?"

By Gods angry response to Cain’s question, you could easily decide the answer is... YES, it is your responsibility to look after your brother. It is your responsibility to make sure you build a thorny hedge around him to protect him. It is your responsibility to keep him from danger. It is your duty to save him.

Uh oh.... here we go again.... Its one of those words which we read over so quickly we forget to take it literally.

Please, forgive me for beating a dead horse, but it is necessary we understand that this word save, is written in a way that it would indicate there is a need of saving... In other words... there is a need to be saved from something. What could that something be??? Hmmmmm I wonder.....

Please, don’t beat yourself up if you didn’t read my last entry (although it is good), but if you did read it, you know what you and I as Brothers and Sisters in Christ are responsible for, concerning saving our other Brother and Sisters. Baggage.

Maybe now would be a good time to explain what I mean by "baggage". Baggage is:

Getting cheated on by your husband
Being raped by your next door neighbor, uncle, or family friend.
Growing up without a father, or mother
Having a lack of trust b/c your trust has been broken so many times
Thoughts of suicide due to a low self esteem
Feelings of anger towards someone who really needs you
Always being broke, b/c you cant balance your check book, b/c a teacher told you you were stupid b/c you had trouble doing simple math

You catchin what I'm talkin about???

We ALL have baggage. Some of us are rather talented at hiding it. Others of us display it and use it as a crutch. And then there are those who share it, but get that age old response, "Oh honey, Now that you have the Holy Ghost, all those things are taken care of!!!"
Tell that to the scars that mar the lives of millions of Christians who have baggage... Take that statement and internalize it for your own baggage??? Feel any better about your baggage??? Is it getting lighter??? Did it go away, never to be remembered again? Never to hurt you again??? No, its still there. The weight of that baggage is still hanging on your shoulders, and the people who said they cared most about you, your Christian family, have given you a crappy answer that didn’t do anything except make you feel that your Holy Ghost must not be real, b/c you still carry your baggage.

Well rest assured. Your Holy Ghost is real. The real problem is an ignorance of the workings of the spirit of God, and a lazy attitude of our responsibility as Christians to someone who has baggage. We are charged to be our brother’s keeper.

Problem is, we don’t know how so we give cookie cutter answers that do nothing but confuse.
Check your own life. Are looking for ways to help your fellow Christian brothers and sisters in their fight with baggage? If so, come back within the next few days and we’ll talk more about it.