Cain and Abel-Gibbs McKinley

The story of Cain and Abel began with their birth-they were the first two children ever born, with their mother being Eve. Cain worked the land and Abel kept herds of animals. When they offered sacrifices of each of their products to God, he favored Abel and his offering over Cain and his. This made Cain furious with Abel, and incredibly jealous. In revenge, Cain took Abel out into his fields and killed him. He was the first man to die. When God discovered what Cain had done, he was enraged, and declared that the land would no longer yield crops so easily to Cain; he also placed a mark upon Cain that made it so any man who harmed Cain would have his violence returned 7-fold. This way, Cain could never escape his misery as a wanderer and he would remain an outcast.

Sibling rivalry is an area of expertise for me; I have two younger sisters, and we are intensely competitive. My relationship with my fifteen year old sister is particularly intense, as we share many of our activities. We both play soccer, and for the past two years have been trying out for the same high school team. Rivalry this personal and constant can sometimes be hard to deal with-it can be difficult to not let the competition affect our sisterly relationship. Our constant proximity also increases the rivalry; we share a room, and seem to constantly be at war. From how the room is kept up, to how we organize the closet, we are constantly debating whose way is better, which way is more effective, who is the more correct. We also have a social rivalry, though it is certainly more frivolous. Clara has many more followers on social media; though this is no concern now, in middle school it was a matter of pride for me. How could my 2 years younger sister manage to be more popular than me? I realize now that this was ridiculous, but at the time it only increased my sense of rivalry. Siblings will always be competitive; from who hold the affection of parents to who is more successful. The key to a relatively healthy relationship is to not let jealously overtake familial love, as Cain did.