Genesis 4:9 "Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is your brother, Abel?'"

"Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is your brother, Abel?' He said, 'I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?'" (Genesis 4:9).
 
"In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive'" (Acts 20:35).

Question:

My reason is I have heard it used and don't understand it. It is as if one has to focus more on another person. It is like the statement "it is greater blessing in giving that receiving.” I can't remember the exact quote at the moment.

Comment:

Your question quoted the passage from Genesis as “You are your brother's keeper,” but in fact that precise statement never appears. The Lord does not directly answer the question, but moves immediately to the issue at hand: Abel's murder of his brother Cain and the spiritual consequences of the choice he made.   Humankind is still very newly arrived into a dualistic life experience, still trying to figure out the rules and regulations of living life under these new conditions. The Lord of their being is present as a stern but loving guide, helping them learn what they need to know. And here we have rule #1: Choices have consequences. Abel's was not only the first murder; it was the first death of any kind. Cain may not even have known how permanent the effects of his angry outburst would be. The playwright Jean-Claude van-Itallie once wrote a wonderful line—“Cain wanted to kill Abel; but he didn't want him dead!” So the lesson here is that impulsive choices can have grievous results. So we are each other's “keepers”—not because other people are more important than we are, but because only by realizing that we are all connected can we move forward together on our shared spiritual purpose.   The other statement you mentioned is an indirect Jesus quote. It isn't recorded in any of the Gospels; but Paul quotes Jesus as saying it in his farewell to the church in Ephesus recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. Again, it is not about sacrificing our own good, or our own happiness, for the sake of others. It is about recognizing the universal spiritual truth that we can most easily find our good and our happiness by being of service to others. Anyone who dies, in fact, make a commitment to giving to others will tell you without hesitation that the spiritual benefits he/she receives are infinitely greater than whatever it is they are giving.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed