By sis Jacqueline Wee
Did Cain randomly pick an offering or did he put his heart and mind into selecting what our awesome God deserves? He may not have brought his worst but was it his best? We know God desires humility, a penitent heart and absolute reverence for Him whenever we approach Him. If Cain was frivolous in picking from his crops, are we more serious when we approach God in prayer and in worship? We may not be at our worst attitude but are we giving God our best?
“but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” – Gen 4:5-7
God tried to counsel Cain; He reasoned with Cain like how any parent would try to sort things out with their children when they are upset. What do we do when someone points out our mistakes to us? Do we open our hearts to sin or do we guard our hearts, our minds and our lips tightly with God’s love? When was the last time we did something wrong? Or said something inappropriate? Or did something that displeased or hurt someone? Was our first response to give excuses for our misdeeds? Did we push the blame to others? Did we point out that others have committed a greater sin than ours? Were we like Cain, who did not see any problem with what he did? Cain’s negative feelings did not simmer down even after God told him that he had the ability to rule over it (verse 7). God made us all in His image, with the capability to choose if we want to humble ourselves to confess and repent of our sins. Or do we use this intelligence to reason our way out of sin?
“Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”- Gen 4:9
Cain had killed his brother, with premeditation, an end which he thought was best to his bitterness. With premeditation and by feigning ignorance of where Abel was, was Cain sorry for what he had done? Can we possibly hide anything from an omniscient God? Why should we even try to deny the chance to confess and beg for forgiveness? Do we see getting caught as our last chance to confess and repent, rather than another try to hide our guilt?
There is so much we do not know about Cain and his family of four. Much less do we understand their daily circumstances. We do not know their daily struggles but we do know something for sure: “That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.” – Ecc 1:9. Nothing will catch God by surprise; our ever-merciful God understands our every plight and has given us the ability to rule over sin when it comes knocking. What will our response be when we are told that we have not done well?