He had a brother named Abel, and when God honored his brother’s offering above his, he grew jealous and killed the brother. Despite doing this, he denied knowing where his brother was or what had happened to him. Ultimately, he was exiled and became a vagabond till he died.
When you read this, what does it make you feel? Angry? Vindictive? Do you think God was too nice to him to loosen and make a deal with him?
Well, who wouldn’t? The story of Cain and Abel elicits a feeling of need for justice inside us all, but before we let those feelings fly loose, there are things we need to know for ourselves;
- God doesn’t see things as we do: Because we haven’t killed anyone in the sense of what killing is, it is easy for us to decide that Cain deserved more than he got. But before God, hatred is murder, stubbornness is witchcraft, etc. They are all the same to Him. If in your heart, you don’t like a person or wish the person doesn’t get favour, or you prevent someone from being seen in a positive light or even improve your image at their expense. When you don’t get something, you spread false information to prevent another person from getting it, or you get jealous about the progress of another, friend or otherwise, and find it hard to rejoice with or for the person. Well, dear friend, you aren’t far or different from Cain. You don’t only murder someone when you spill their blood. You do so when you don’t wish well for them. Good things are part of life, so when you don’t want them to have them, you also take their lives. God sees you and Cain exactly the same way. But for humans, one is significant, while the other seems not to be. Wrong!!!
- God does not operate as we do: We have been caught in lies, jealousy, envy, hatred, etc. Do we wish to be judged according to the deserved punishments allocated to such wrongs, or do we hope that God will forgive us? Do we want to be treated by the justice system of God or by His Mercy system? Yeah, I thought as much, and guess what? His mercies have been keeping us each day. The same mercy God showed Cain is the same mercy we enjoy, and yet sometimes it’s easy for us to feel we have the right to inflict judgement upon others for their actions. If God were to reward us for our daily lives according to what we deserve, many of us wouldn’t be alive to start with, and those who are will have one or multiple judgement following us and making our lives miserable.
The Word of God teaches us not to judge, knowing that we, too, are enjoying grace and mercy from God. Knowing this, we must therefore keep our hearts with all diligence and humility, knowing that we don’t own our lives nor the grace given to us to live them. Therefore the faults that have befallen another person might have been ours, and, were it to be, we would expect some leniency from God and man. That should also make us offer the same leniency to others.
Many people’s predicaments weren’t of their own making, and even though they were, they probably would choose better if another chance was given. Many struggles to open new chapters for themselves, experience a rebirth and start over in a new life. Let us not keep crippling their efforts by placing them right at the spot from where they left off. The wings you give someone to fly with can be the ones to pick you up in your downtime.
Instead of hating, pray for your heart and pray for the person’s life.
Instead of jealousy, pray for your favour and rejoice with the other person.
