Sibling Rivalry
"Am I my brother's keeper?" - Genesis 4:9
Do you ever struggle with sibling rivalry with your own siblings or your kids? This can be especially tough with siblings of the same sex who are close in age. The Bible is filled with great stories of sibling rivalries: Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, and David and his brothers. What can we learn?
* Sibling rivalries happen in the best of families.
* Perhaps they most commonly result from competition and jealousy.
* Parents can exasperate it by showing favoritism, comparing one child to another, or trying to manipulate God's will for one child over another.
Sibling rivalry can be overcome when parents are fair and teach siblings to respect and love one another. They can teach siblings to forgive and seek forgiveness of one another. When that occurs, it's like seeing the face of God.
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2 Comments
God's timing is SO GOOD !! My unsaved coworker and I had just finished discussing an issue she had with her two children yesterday and I was able to pass this devotion on to her. - JM
I have four children and they are treated the same, but they are still competative and argue and all that good stuff that comes with children.My husband comes from a family of five boys and because of the way they were treated, one better than the other, they don't get along today. Family functions are stressful and noone wants to be there, but we go. I don't know what the answer it, comparing these two scenerios. My husband says our children are just being children, I grew up pretty much an only child since my siblings are much older than I. But then, my parents had their favourites too and we resent one another too. Goodness, I guess we just have to seek God's will for us all and do the best we can. - julie