21.08.02 Sibling Rivalry - Genesis 25:29-27:13

2-aug-2021-slider-image.jpg?w=1140&ssl=1 I wonder what you have seen in ‘sibling rivalry’… either in your family or the families of your friends? “Sibling rivalry” can be brutal, am I right? When you look closely, what do you see is normally the driving motivation for ‘brutal sibling rivalry’? I have found, almost always, it is competition for the approval and love of parents. That’s why when children perceive their parents favor one child over another, there is envy, bitterness between the children. Yesterday we ended our reflections peering into the family dynamic of Isaac, Rebekah, Esau and Jacob through this one statement: “Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” (Genesis 25:28) These twins, who could have been best friends, became first competitors and then enemies, primarily because of the conflicting love of their parents. Esau knew his mother loved his brother more. Jacob knew his brother Esau was his father’s favorite son. Oh my, what a mess.