Cain’s Crossroads

Cain’s Crossroads


God spoke to Cain: "Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won't you be accepted? And if you don't do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it's out to get you, you've got to master it."
Genesis 4:6-7 THE MESSAGE


Cain and his brother offered sacrifices to God. One sacrifice was acceptable and the other was not. When I was young, I heard a minister say that meat was not an acceptable offering because we aren’t supposed to eat meat, only veggies and grains. Or in other words, it was the wrong type of material to sacrifice. But this verse rules out that ridiculous thought. The problem was Cain’s anger. A perfectly good sacrifice is ruined by anger. In fact, anger is not the whole issue. How we handle our anger is the real issue, not necessarily the anger in itself. For example, Jesus handled anger by healing a man’s hand in Mark 3:5 and clearing the temple of money changers and shifty business entrepreneurs in Matthew 21.Does your anger spur you on to blessing or sin?

You know, Paul tells us in Ephesians not to sin in our anger. But my anger has never caused me to do anything good. My most famous anger outburst was more than twenty years ago. My dad owned a home that he used as rental property and he found it necessary to evict the tenants. Before they left, the tenants completely trashed the house. They broke several windows, caused some plumbing issues and if my memory serves correct, even urinated on the carpet in one room. I discussed this with a friend and we decided to pay them back. I knew where these people moved, went to their new location and trashed their car. I broke every window and beat the car with a baseball bat.

The next day, I parked my Pontiac Sunbird in my parent’s garage and went on an errand with my mom. When we came home, the fire department was just finishing. The former tenants had turned my Sunbird into a fried chicken by burning down the entire garage. James 1:20 says that “man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” My decision made in anger caused my parents property damage and the loss of my car. I doubt those outcomes were the desires of God or the reflection of a righteous life.

God does something in Genesis 4:6-7 that I find rather unbelievable. He says “why this tantrum?” As if to say, “You know you made a mistake. Why are you acting like I wouldn’t know?” Then God says, “You’ve got to master it.” I wish God would just open my head, pour in the stuff he wants, remove the garbage and close it tight. Then I could be just what he wants. But for some reason, God prefers to partner with me. He shows me the way to go, then says try it! Master it! Be a pro and show me you can do it.

Has your anger brought you to a crossroad? Sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it's out to get you, you've got to master it! Will you continue to sulk and blame everyone else or will you master it?