Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Download/Upload (11/17/11)
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TITLE: My Brother's Keeper | Previous Challenge Entry
By Leola Ogle
12/01/11 -
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What was he going to do? A part of him wished he had never sat down and turned on the computer. Mixed emotions surged through him – anger, sorrow, shock, bewilderment, disbelief. He had moved his family across country to help his twin brother, David, with his ministry. Now this!
It had been a surprise to the whole family when David had resigned his successful pastorate on the west coast and taken a position at a floundering church in the east. David implemented some new things and had the church on an even keel when he had called Dean and asked him to come out and help him.
Although their parents had been pastors, Dean had never felt called to be a pastor like David had. David had a pastor’s heart. Dean, on the other hand, was an excellent business administrator. It was for precisely that reason that David begged him to come out.
After much prayer, and waiting for his wife, Carol, to be in agreement, Dean had pulled up stakes and relocated with their two small children. The church flourished under the combined leadership of David and Dean. Carol and the children had made the adjustments, and life was good - at least until today.
David had been preoccupied and distant lately, but Dean hadn’t attached any significance to it. It wasn’t unusual for pastors to feel stressed and overwhelmed at times. But this…this explained so many things.
Dean stumbled onto the downloaded images on David’s computer quite by accident. David was busy making hospital visits that morning when Dean’s computer had crashed. He’d called a technician, but in the meantime, he had decided to use David’s computer to upload the quarterly financial statement onto discs for the board members in preparation for the meeting scheduled in a week.
The only thing that kept playing through his mind was the scripture “be sure your sins will find you out.”* Those words brought no comfort to him.
How could David do this? And on the church computer! The more Dean investigated, the worse it became. Some things dated as far back as a year ago. Did David honestly think this would never be discovered?
Tears came to Dean’s eyes as he dropped his head onto his cupped hands. He prayed, and wept, then prayed some more.
Finally, an hour later, he stood to his feet. There was only one thing to do. If he truly loved his brother, he would do what was best for him. He would confront David - no lying, no excuses, no covering this thing up. The leadership of their denomination would have to be brought in and decisions made.
Dean thought of a story in the Old Testament. When God had asked Cain where his brother, Abel, was, Cain had responded , “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”*
Perhaps Dean wasn’t David’s keeper, but he was his brother’s brother. He was family. Dean loved his brother, and because of this love, he would do the right thing even if David didn’t understand, even if he was angry.
Numbers 32:23 NIV *
Genesis 4:9 NIV *
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One suggestion I'd like to make is to make (for you know, the next time you write a 750 word story with two or more characters) would be to make the character names more dissimilar. I realize they are brothers, and--twins if I remember correctly--however, the names were so similar, I had to struggle to remember which was which.
Otherwise, I enjoyed the story, the message, and your application of the theme.