Mike Walsh

In Genesis chapter 4, after Adam and Eve ate the fruit and put the weight of sin upon mankind, we read the story of two of their children (Cain and Abel). They were bringing their offerings before the Lord, and Cain’s offering wasn’t an acceptable offering. God approved of Abel’s fat offering, but not Cain’s offering of the crops he had grown. We see that Cain became offended and hated his brother because God approved of Abel’s offering, but not his. As written in Genesis 4:8-9, “Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” (NKJV). Of course in this passage we can see that Cain did know what happened to his brother, but from the first time I read that passage over 40 years ago, this question has rung in my ears. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”  

One pastor said, “I know every person’s favorite subject, “Themselves” and this is so true. We are all wired to take care of ourselves. We all have the same issue, we love ourselves and we take care of our own needs. Many people get preoccupied with their own affairs and they never take the time to notice that there are people all around them living in desperate need of help. Jesus had a different take on this subject. In Matthew 22:34-40, “The Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Jesus answered our question by showing us that in God’s economy it is good and right to help each other in their time of need. As believers concerned about fulfilling the Great Commission, care for others is the greatest way to fulfill it.  

In 2013 I had the opportunity to go to Port Au Prince, Haiti, to see what the assemblies of God were doing there after the great earthquake in 2010, when over 222,570 people had died. It left thousands of children orphaned there. Our relief agency, “Convoy of Hope,”  was feeding over 69,000 orphans every day in the orphanages that they had set up there. I saw these orphanages with my own eyes. Today it is over 126,000 every day. While we were there, someone quoted one of our missionaries in Calcutta, India (Mark Buntain). He said,  “Empty stomachs have no ears.” I have never forgotten this quote and how important it is to start where we live and help those we can see right in front of our eyes. It can be as simple as helping the elderly lady across the street unload her groceries. It is whatever the Lord shows us to do. When we begin helping others as we see their need, God will begin to open up a whole new world to us as believers, and God will begin to show us what we can do to be a light to those all around us!

Yes, we truly are our brothers keeper!

(Mike Walsh is the pastor at Glad Tidings Assembly of God.)