Anyone with siblings know just how frustrating and infuriating they can be. Growing up I felt a lot of pressure to be as good as my two older sisters, and quite frankly still have to resist the feeling sometimes. When you have very high achieving siblings you can quickly feel like you are living in their shadows and that most achievements are just a "expectation". Fortunately neither of my older sisters have ever been the type to gloat or "rub" their achievements in my face so we do not really have ongoing conflicts. Sure we bicker sometimes and don't always get along but I think our sibling rivalries ended a long time ago when we realized we were different people and were all more than adequate.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Cain and Abel-Garrett Uebelhor
The story of Genesis 4 is one of rivalry and jealousy. Two brothers Cain and Abel ( the children of Adam and Eve) both sacrificed to God. The oldest son Cain tended soil while the younger son Abel tended to flocks of sheep. So naturally Cain offered some of his crops while Abel offered one of his firstborn sheep. The Lord looked favorable on Abel's offer but not on Cain's, this sparked jealously in Cain. God asked Cain why he was "pouting" and admonished him say if you did what was right would you not be accepted. This seemingly sparked even more jealousy in Cain because soon after while in a field Cain murders his brother Abel. Very displeased with Cain's actions God curses Cain to no longer be able to raise crops, however hearing this Cain decides it is to much to bear and leaves for the land of Nod exclaiming whoever finds him will kill him. After this exclamation God marks Cain in a way which protects him from harm saying that no one will murder him for fear out of suffering 7 times over.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with your comment on sibling rivalry. I get the other end of the spectrum, however, since I am the oldest sibling. I still feel the pressure from my younger sister, though, because she is starting to achieve things that I was unable to achieve when I was her age. It puts the pressure on me that perhaps she's smarter than me now, let alone when I was her age. My sister and I both get jealous all the time and I really don't think it'll stop until I go off to college and we realize that we actually miss and love each other.
ReplyDeleteI can really relate to this struggle as a sibling myself. While your sisters may be good and successful, I'm glad you are able to resist the urge to follow in their footsteps. As you are the youngest and me being the oldest in our respective families, we have very different problems facing us when concerning sibling rivalry, however we can see there are still many similarities.
ReplyDelete