Who is my brother’s keeper?
My father, of course.
When the Lord came to Cain and asked of Abel’s whereabouts, Cain made what should have been a perfectly legitimate counter-inquiry. In asking, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” he was essentially saying, “Abel is not under my stewardship, so why call me to account concerning him?” But it was the Lord’s question and not Cain’s retort which was appropriate. Though not appointed to be Abel’s keeper, Cain had seized unrighteous dominion, presumptuously acting as Abel’s keeper in taking his life.
What is a keeper, anyway? A keeper is a master, one who has power and authority over someone or something. In Gospel terms, keepers are stewards; those who preside over a divinely appointed jurisdiction. To be a righteous keeper is perhaps the most demanding opportunity which eternity affords. One must first overcome the world through full acceptance of the Savior, submitting to His will in all things as He submits to the Father; but one must also take upon himself the authority and obligations of the Holy Priesthood and exercise righteous dominion therein. Anyone who presides in the Kingdom of God is a keeper or steward: Fathers and mothers, ministering brothers and sisters, quorum and group leaders, Bishoprics, Stake Presidencies, General Authorities, and the Lord himself.
What then am I?
I am my brother’s brother, not his keeper. It is my opportunity to love him, to share his burdens, to encourage, to support. But it is not my right to command him to repent, to harrow up his soul in regard to his sins, to tell or suggest what he ought to do; all these things belong to my brother’s keepers—our father, his bishop, etc.
Oh, what a world of good things can I do for and with my brother without presuming to be his keeper, his Lord and Master! If I can thrill to be his brother and love him and support him as I should, we will both be better sons of our father, better servants of the Lord.
Few notions have wrought as much havoc in the history of mankind as the misplaced suggestion that I ought to be my brother’s keeper. Under this banner have paraded all manner of tyranny, oppression, restraint, burning at the stake, meddling, etc. Almost every tyrant has seen himself as the great benefactor of his people, delivering them from their waywardness, rewarding with life or death, wealth or poverty, as he sees fit. Professors tend to see themselves as custodians of the truth, and as such, proper keepers of the minds of their students, administering rewards and punishments according to their own good pleasure. Professional people of all sorts see themselves as benevolent keepers of people’s bodies, sanity, tastes, culture—the list exhausts most every human activity. And some of these people are not above the use of force to inflict life or death, wealth or poverty, truth, health, sanity, culture, etc., on their “less gifted” brothers.
But there is a God and Father of us all. He only and those whom He appoints to stand in His stead have any right to be our keepers. Let us then be better brothers by ceasing to be usurpatious keepers. Let us reject tyranny in every guise and serve Him only whose right it is to reign. And only as we acknowledge and faithfully serve our common Father can we ever truly act as brothers and let peace come on earth.