Once there were two brothers.

Growing up, they did everything together. They lived out in the country and didn’t have any neighbors close by, so they became best friends.

As adults, they chose separate careers, but remained close friends. They’d see each other at church, get together to watch football, and go over to their parents house for dinner.

The younger brother seemed to live a charmed life. He was handsome, popular, successful in business. He was a leader at church and in the community.

The older brother struggled. He had a prickly personality and had a hard time getting ahead financially. People tended to overlook him when his little brother was around.

Over time, this began to wear on the older brother. He started to feel bitter towards his little brother. When his little brother bought a huge HD flatscreen TV and invited him to come over and watch the game on it, the older brother thought his brother was deliberately rubbing his success in his face. So he turned down the invitation.

They started to grow apart.

The older brother stopped calling his little brother to see what he was up to. He started sitting on the other side of the room at church and using the exit on the other side of the building so he wouldn’t run into his little brother. He stopped going over to his parent’s house when he knew that his little brother was going to be there.

The wider the chasm grew, the more angry the older brother became with his younger brother. Everything his little brother said and did was an offense to the older brother. So much so that he decided to go to another church so that he wouldn’t have to see him at all.

His little brother was puzzled by his big brother’s behavior, but figured his brother needed some space. If his big brother needed to talk to him about something, he would come to him when the time was right.

Their parents were worried, but the older brother wouldn’t tell them what was going on. They begged him to talk to someone about what was bugging him.

He finally sat down with a trusted old friend who had known his family for years and told him why he was so angry with his little brother.

The friend listened carefully and then gave him some blunt advice. He said, “This really isn’t about your brother. It’s about you. You’re projecting things onto your brother that aren’t true or real. You’ve got something dark and evil growing inside of you and if you don’t get a handle on it, it’s going to destroy you.”

The older brother assumed that, like everyone else, this old friend was taking his little brother’s side. So he ignored his friend’s advice and continued to obsess about all the ways his little brother was intentionally showing him up.

One night, emboldened by a little too much alcohol, he drove over to his brothers house and confronted him. His little brother was hurt and confused and denied all the accusations his older brother hurled at him. This made his brother even more angry. Blind with rage, he called his little brother unspeakable names and charged him. His little brother stumbled and fell and hit his head against the brick slab in front of the fireplace. He was dead before his older brother could calm down and realize what he had done.

When their parents learned what had happened, they were heartbroken. In an instant, they lost two sons. One was put in the ground and the other was sent off to prison.

In their grief they struggled to make sense of what had come between their two precious sons, whose names were Cain and Abel.

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21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to that person; then come and offer your gift. 25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
Matthew 5:21-26 (TNIV)