Brotherly Hate

As brothers and sisters we are related.  From the same stock, same gene pool.  Seems like forever since we last lived peaceably under the same roof.  God, so much wasted time!

  Long ago, there was the proverbial parting of the ways.  You went in pursuit of your mission; I went on with mine.  Like all siblings there was rivalry, competition.  We fought for parental favor. We sought to impress them with our savvy, our looks, and our prosperity.  

Hurt and pain sprang from unhealed wounds.  Some of those wounds, untended, festered and became dangerous.  We fought like all relatives and, just like them, soon forgot what we were feuding about.  Seems that often the fight itself became the reason for continuance of the rivalry.

There are those who say the familial “parting of the ways” is as old as Cain and Abel.  Certainly the root of brothers vying for the love of their parents is as ancient as Eden.  We are no different.

It has been my hope that time would bring maturity to us and the realization that siblings can not just love one another (we already do) but allow for legitimacy of the other.  I can validate your goodness, brilliance and gifts while losing none of my own stature.  You can return that appreciation.  It is odd that we “love our neighbor” more when they don’t live in our neighborhood.  But we have lived long together.  And hated every minute of it.  There is no escaping that.

“Ah,” you say, “those days are long gone.”  Yes, you are right, brother.  They seem all but a dim memory now.  We have found each other’s arms after a long estrangement.  There has not just been rapprochement but something far deeper, more meaningful.  We are in process of re-discovering the family love so long absent.  Mom and dad would be proud.  Perhaps they smile down on us from above as their children have found one another.

Still, every now and again it is good to remember the old rivalry.  This allows us to bask in the realization that those days are gone.  We can dialogue, break bread with one another, find words of shared worship, and even gently chide each other.  We have grown.  We have fully matured and now enjoy a rich relationship bearing more gifts than we could ever imagine.

I am sorry that every now and again someone forgets the great progress we have made.  I guess they feel more comfortable in a contest of words and legitimacy (‘I’m better than you are’ kind of stuff) than a road to greater love.  I will not let those family members stand in our way, though.  And neither will you.  After all, what we have discovered is the most valuable gift of all.