Sin or no sin?

[Revert2Christ]

I know that by now hundreds of people aked this kind of “is this a mortal or venial sin” questions but today I really need some more opinions on the following case:

For quite some time now, my brother has this habit of yelling at our mother and insulting her. Most of time he does that because she tells him to do more work for school, but sometimes it seems to me that he behaves this way for fun.
As a Christian I should never be angry with my brother, but today I really just could not stand his behavour anymore.

While yelling at my mother for a trivial issue, I told him quietly to stop, but all he did was to give me a very arrogant answer. Finally I ended up telling him to shut up and told him that I am sick of him screaming around all day.

After that incident I got very sad and asked myself if I might have committed a sin by screaming at my brother and telling him to keep his mouth shut.

What do you think about that? I personally don’t feel guilty that much, but I’m not sure if I just try to fool myself.

 

[promethius]

What do you think about that? I personally don’t feel guilty that much, but I’m not sure if I just try to fool myself.

The commandment says “honor thy father and thy mother.” It does not say “be a pushover to your brother and let him dishonor your mom.”

At the same time, we must treat others with charity as we stand against iniquity… so you should not be abusive towards your brother, ever. But gentle correction, being firm and resolute throughout any of his reactions, is the proper course of action.

 

[philial]

You have a right to have your humanity respected, as does your mother. If your mother is powerless in the face of your brother’s insults, then, I would say, you are under an obligation to safe-guard her from abuse. If the weapon you have to use is shouting - and it certainly has its place in communication - then fair enough. However, what your brother really needs is to accept responsibility for his immaturity & bullying behaviour. That can come about over a period of time, but by way of charitable and persistent persuasion. The real problem lies in discovering the root cause of the bro’s abuse.

(Sorry if the following is too personal, but is a genuine attempt to help) You don’t mention a father… is he around? If not, does your bro hold your mum responsible for his loss, and can only express it in anger? I say this only because my experience of ‘angry young men’ can often be linked to fractures in the relationship with the one who would otherwise give them the guidence / leadership young men need to achieve adulthood.