Cain & Abel - Consequence and OpportunitySample

What Will You Do?

The story of Cain and Abel is a cautionary tale: A story about what can happen when we stand at a crossroad and choose the path that feels best at the moment. The way that self-justifies. A course of blame and bitterness, and the sin that leads to death.

Genesis 4:5 says that the Lord did not “accept” Cain and his gift. The word "accept" would be better translated as “approve.” It means to rise, to be exalted. Cain wants to be elevated. He wants approval. From Cain’s perspective, Abel has blocked his goal—or perhaps God did.

God directs Cain to do what we all ought to do in response to emotions: He asks, “Why are you angry?” God does not tell Cain to suppress his feelings; He acknowledges them. By asking “why?” God invites Cain to self-examine, to discover what value is underlying his emotion.

God makes it clear that Cain has a decision to make after he reflects on his heart. It is a binary choice. He can either stay rooted in a blame-centered perspective or shift to God’s perspective and do “what is right.”

Cain can hold on to anger and demand his way, or he can listen to God and do what is right. What will he do?

Sadly, Cain chooses his way—the way of sin. Therefore, sin takes possession. In demanding his way, he becomes a slave to sin. Cain chooses bitterness and blame.

The choice presented to Cain is the choice we face every day, multiple times a day. Will we choose what is right, the way God approves? Or, will we let sin master us? Sin is crouching. It wants to have us, to control us. Our “own way” is the path to slavery and death. Thankfully, we have a choice. Through faith in Christ and by His grace, we can rule over sin. In Him, we can choose what is right.

When our emotions flare, they are doing us a favor. They are telling us that “something is wrong.” When this occurs, we should listen and examine ourselves, discerning how to align our actions with God’s ways. Then we can dismiss our emotions and thank them for their work, rather than being ruled by them.