Transactional Brotherhood

A good friend, mentor, and brother in Christ once posted a comment to a post I put on Facebook asking the definition of brotherhood. He said, and I am paraphrasing, brotherhood isn't our choice; the problem is that it is seen as a transactional process. Brotherhood is not transactional. When it comes to blood relations, we don't get to choose our parents or our siblings. When it comes to military, we don't get to choose our brothers either; government assigns them. When it comes to the biker community many times it is also not our choice; for those that choose to belong to an organization; the back patch decides. Finally, in Christ we do not decide either; He does. In family, our brothers and sisters are genetically similar; we have the same parents, we have the same cultural and social contexts, and-like them or not-we are related. The same goes for the veteran and biker communities: the connection is different-instead of genetics, it's a patch on the shoulder or on the back. It's months of training to perform a specific task, a specific job, and many specific missions, or years of riding and fellowship together with similar specific tasks and missions. The closest common denominator is genetics or a patch. Genetics is beyond my scope or pay grade to explain, but a piece-or two or three pieces-of cloth sewn together in an ornate fashion that brings out a symbol of unity, a symbol of belonging. What holds that symbol together? To the civilian, it's a simple thread sewn together that if sewn in the right stitch is sturdy. To the veteran, to the club member, to the Church, however there is much more that holds it together than a simple, single, weak thread. It is conviction, it is integrity, it is character, and above all love and respect. In each group, whether it is biker, veteran, or the church, it is much deeper, or should be, than the physical limits of a simple thread that makes an ornate design on some pieces of cloth. It is the interwoven experiences of lives that share a common experience in specific context. For the veteran, it is the experience of  training, discipline, and (for some) combat. For the biker it is very much the same but a different context; as well as the Christian. In the former it is mostly physical; in the latter it is mostly spiritual, but in each case the spiritual and the physical overlap. The struggle comes when we reduce the complex nature of brotherhood to a simple transaction: what can you do for me? As fallen creatures, it is easy for us to oversimplify everything we do. This why we go through the drive-through window for a quick bite of a mystery meat burger in lieu of a good meal. When brotherhood becomes transactional, it becomes the same thing as a fast food burger compared to a prime rib meal with all of the fixings. Brotherhood is not about what you can do for me, it is about what I can do for you. This includes how I can help make your burden lighter; as well as how I can help you make your integrity and character better and vise versa. Brotherhood is a double edged sword; it should, when applied correctly, cut both ways, but if you cut a brother it should only be a cut to heal, or for his gain in health, in love and respect. If you cut at a brother in any other way you have failed your oath as a brother. We should never cut to lose. The churches, veterans and bikers that have not grasped this concept as of yet are missing to a large extent the entire concept of brotherhood; it cannot be approached with any a

ulterial motives. It must only be approached in the utmost love and respect and only from as altruistic a perspective as we can muster. In truth, brotherhood is as close to a marriage relationship a platonic relationship can get. We must be able to accept the others strengths and weaknesses. Applauding the former and in love correcting the other. The first and only question anyone should be asking is am I brother material.