Family life is not always harmonious. There is often more spontaneity and pleasure in relationships with friends than with siblings. It’s astonishing to see difficulties of relationships between people who were brought up together and had similar experiences in their early years.

          They learned values and similar lessons from their parents, but differ widely in their tastes and tendencies. Some brothers deliberately move away from the others, as soon as they reach adulthood. Others are in constant friction, while remaining in contact.

          The reason for this difficulty is explained by Spiritism. It explains that there are two kinds of family: material and spiritual.

          The material family is established by blood ties. The spiritual family depends exclusively on affinity and commonality of ideas and values.

          Corporeal ties are established from the need to learn and to remake the mistakes of the past. Corporeal ties may or may not be composed of Spirits that have affinity between them. Spiritual ties are easily identifiable.

          These are people who seek and take pleasure in each other's company. They have values in common and their relationship is quiet and pleasant.

          If two brothers have genuine affinity, they are always great friends. Difficulties arise when life brings together former opponents in the same household.

          Beings that are radically different from each other and with a certain amount of antipathy often have an explosive relationship. However, the Divine Wisdom never makes mistakes.

          If this reunion was arranged is because it’s essential to measure the achievement of harmony. The Divine Act establishes love and fraternity among human beings.

          When some Spirits don’t learn their lessons easily, life provides the means to make the learning happen. For example, two spouses who cheat and make each other feel unhappy. They can learn the lesson that loyalty is a treasure.

          They may also have compassion for the other’s mistake. But many who betray and slander allow themselves to hate those who do the same with them. These may sometimes be reborn as brothers, to learn to love fraternally.

          Even though this interaction is not easy, it corresponds to a real spiritual need. Divine Providence reunites in the same home Spirits who made mistakes against each other in the past.

          The family is a powerful tool to eliminate secular grievances and facilitate the moral transformation of creatures. Let’s value our family!

‘Redação do Momento Espírita’; 12th September 2008.