Genesis 13:8
And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
Increased prosperity had made the flocks and herds of both households so large that there was no longer sufficient pasture for them together, so disputes arose between their herdsmen over grazing land and created real danger of quarreling between Abraham and Lot themselves. Abraham himself took the lead in seeking harmony, pleading with humble courtesy that there be no strife between himself and Lot or between their herdsmen, because they were brethren, kindred and family, and he could not endure contention even among their servants. Although he was the elder and the greater in family standing, wealth and position, although God Himself had given the whole land to him, and although he had the right to choose first, he relinquished his right and superiority, proposed a separation, and with courtesy and consideration for his younger nephew and relative gave Lot the first choice of direction and of the land before them, even the part that seemed most desirable. Though the separation was painful he judged it necessary, and he gave Lot the first choice so Lot would not think he was acting for his own advantage, being willing to sacrifice his own advantage to avoid contention and glorify God, and God was pleased with him for it.
The plea that they were brethren means more than natural relationship; it means fellowship as worshipers of the true God, showing that the children of God the world over are one family to be governed by the same spirit of love and conciliation. Dissension, jealousy and strife among brethren dishonor God, while clinging to individual rights and preferences to assert superiority tears households apart and divides churches into a byword and reproach among the wicked. The verse therefore calls for a noble, unselfish spirit that refuses to insist on its own way, holding that regard for a fellow believer takes precedence over asserting one's own advantage; it requires being kindly affectioned with brotherly love and preferring one another in honor, cultivating uniform courtesy and doing to others as one would wish to be done by, which would remove half the ills of life, and it condemns the spirit of self-aggrandizement as the spirit of Satan in contrast to the love of Christ that seeks not its own and looks not only on its own things but also on the things of others.