Twin brothers start talking out their issues at a family gathering just ahead of a reading of the will of their wise mother. But no sooner had they started talking then Brother A starts going off. Brother B keeps smiling and shaking his head possibly thinking, “Why did I get myself into this?” Still brother B tries to stick to the issues. But eventually he starts meeting brother A where he is while from time to time trying to get back on track. But then brother A talks about brother B’s children and brother B is completely derailed. But despite this he stays at the gathering until the end.

After the two brothers leave, the family who was watching the whole thing discusses what they witnessed. Those who typically side with brother A say, “It wasn’t his best day. But if it wasn’t for the way the other family treated him in the past, he never would’ve started a fight in the first place. And since brother B reacted it’s both of their faults.”

Those who typically side with brother B say, “Given that brother A was constantly on the attack, it’s a miracle brother B kept it together at all. But they still wish brother B stuck to the issues no matter what brother A did.

The second cousins who usually skip these gatherings and are reasonably objective just wished they never came. And the next door neighbors who hate the family for always positioning themselves as having it more together than every other family are laughing and stoking the fires.

A month and a half later, the will is read. These are the words of their wise mother.

“My Children,

Because I love you both with all of my heart, I desire for you to love one another as I love you. Out of my love, I shared all I have with you. But rather than receive what I gave you as the gift it is, you came to believe that you deserved it. And this showed no gratitude or stewardship. Rather than use your gifts to create more for you and others to enjoy, you fought with one another and destroyed much of what you’ve been given. So I have declared that if you cannot promise to work together as of this reading, I will take almost everything from you and divide it among your second cousins and your neighbors. You will be left with a remnant of what you once possessed as well as the wisdom you will receive if you ever learn from your mistakes. With that wisdom, you could possibly regain all that you will feel that you’ve lost. But until you learn, you will experience the wisdom delayed as blessings denied. My prayer is that you will seek the wisdom for wisdom’s sake knowing that it comes from a love that cannot fail even when you do. For in love’s wisdom you will see that any distraction from love was always worthy to be counted as loss. My deepest blessings to you on this journey.

Your loving Mother”

What would you do if you were one or both of the twins?