Good day all. I hope all of you have had a wonderful few days. I apologize for not having written in a day or so. As you all know from the previous blog, mom had been in the hospital. Well fortunately she was released on Monday and at home resting comfortably. I thank you all for the thoughts and prayers while we were going through that storm. During the time I had at the hospital with mom I worked on some anti-bullying ideas as when someone is bullied it is and can be in many ways. Some of the ways aren’t just by people that maybe one goes to school with but family, friends, and teachers as well. The question though that continued to go through my mind and I kept asking whether or not it was truly bullying was that of sibling rivalry. I want you think as I write this about this particular question…..is sibling rivalry or can it become bullying and did Cain bully Able?

Many of us have a brother or a sister and whether it is a biological or it is an adopted sibling there is always some sort of conflict. When we begin school if we have had an older sibling, a lot of times it is very difficult to show who you are for you are always compared to that sibling. So in school, many come up against bullying but is it possible for one sibling to bully another?  Many would say no…..it’s just rivalry. The truth is though that it can turn into bullying. If it can be done at school then it has to come from somewhere. Many say that it couldn’t come from the home front but the truth is that when children are bullied at home, they bring the bullying to school. Siblings have a strong tendency to bully one another for one reason or another. No matter what though God knows who is responsible for the bullying in a family. He holds each of us just as He held Cain responsible for Able. In the book of Genesis we study the beginnings and how they are so precious to God. He shows us the responsibility in which He now begins to make Adam and Eve take for sinning against Him. In chapter four of Genesis, Eve has now given birth to Cain and Able. Cain gives God a small offering but Able…the youngest….offers God a great offering. Cain is jealous of Able….sibling rivalry… because of this and thus he invites him to the field where he begins to attack him and kills him. To me that would be considered bullying but the thing I noticed was that like many bullies, Cain didn’t take the responsibility when God confronted him and lied to him. In this chapter, we are learn that God asks Cain where his brother is and in return we learn that Cain ask this:

                    9- "I don’t know”, he replied, "Am I my   

                          brother’s keeper.”

Well, it’s obvious that we now know that Cain is not going to take the responsibility for his brother’s death. The thing was though that God knew what had happened as He told Cain that He could hear the blood of Abel cry out. Now after examination of all areas I truly see here a case of sibling bullying. A case that many would have said was nothing but a rivalry. I therefore ask you….first off, is sibling rivalry also known as bullying? I will say that if it’s just something that is fussing its fine BUT when you get down to them hitting one another or punching; verbally saying stuff to hurt the other one or even turning the parent’s against the other sibling, then it can be considered bullying. It is basically being said from one sibling to another that they are better than them, that they are more intelligent, and that the sibling who is being bullied doesn’t account for anything. The thing is though that God knows what is happening and He loves us for who we are not what anyone else thinks.

Remember if you are interested in having me speak to your church, school, group, or organization or want a copy of the book, you can find all the information on the front of this website.

God Bless and Keep you-

In Christ-

Marla

Psalms 121 and 23 <><