identity: Does it Stop At i?

‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ (Genesis 4:9 Bible)

Habits of Mind : Managing Impulsivity

In 1946 the German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller wrote the following words:

First they came for the Communists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me

And there was no one left

To speak out for me

Niemöller here is writing about the cowardice of German intellectuals and certain clergy (including, by his own admission, Niemöller himself) following the Nazis rise to power and the subsequent incremental persecution of their chosen targets, group after group. In each case people failed to speak out for those ‘not one of us’ and instead remained as bystanders to the persecutions.

So in answer to this week’s question, ‘Does it stop at I? the answer is a resounding ’no’! Concern and compassion for others should not only be for those like us or with whom we identify. Jesus famously taught that we ‘should love our neighbour as ourselves’ echoing the Jewish teaching in Leviticus. And then there is the injunction to ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ known at the golden rule, which is found in all ethical systems, and the closest we come to a universal moral rule. And it reminds how we should expand our circles of compassion to reach others beyond our immediate concern.

Our quotation this week comes from the story of Cain and Abel in the book of Genesis. God asks Cain where his brother is, knowing full well he has killed him. Cain responds ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ to which God responds ‘yes you are!’. And so we are to be held responsible for our brothers wellbeing, which of course is to be understood as an inclusive term.

We exist within a web of relationships and our own wellbeing is tied up with the wellbeing of others. So, we should not ‘stop at I’, because our lives may well depend upon it.

Christine Crossley