Misplaced Anger
Today, I spend most of my day in Denver. I went to my mothers’ home to get our dog and go over some of her financial statements with her. The highlight of my day was spending one of the most enjoyable days with my 90 year-old mother that I can remember. She seemed to have clearer thoughts and more control over her emotions than what I usual encounter, especially when explaining finances. She seemed genuinely appreciative of our time.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you furious? And why do you look despondent? If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted?…Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him…” Genesis 4:6-8 HCSB
Personal responsibility is a key issue that arises in the early stories of Genesis. I recall as a Senior Pastor there was an incident that arose that I believed a part-time staff member was involved in. I called the individual and inquired about the incident. His immediate response surprised me. He said, “I did it.” That was not the response that I expected and I had a great deal of respect for his honesty and how quick he was to “own” his actions.
We don’t see that when God confronted Adam and Eve and when the Lord did not accept Cain’s offering. When confronted about eating the forbidden fruit, it was not a quick admission of guilt. Adam’s first response was “the woman you gave me, she gave it to me and I ate.” (Gen. 3:12 HCSB) So, it was really God’s fault or Eve’s fault and Adam was an innocent bystander with lesser guilt. Eve’s response was similar, ““It was the serpent. He deceived me, and I ate.” (Gen. 3:13 HCSB) Someone observed, “Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the serpent and the serpent didn’t have a “leg” to stand on.”
When Cain and Abel brought sacrifices to the Lord, for whatever reason Cain’s wasn’t accepted. There are certainly some missing facts in the story we would like to know. But it appears that Cain must have known what was right and didn’t do it. Cain is mad at the God. But God basically tells him, “don’t be mad, just do what is right or you will be overtaken by sin.”
In these words of caution from God, Cain is warned that if you begin to do wrong, it becomes easier to do wrong the next time and the next and soon you are the servant to sin. Paul refers to those who live according to the “flesh” or their own desires as “slaves to sin.” “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.“ (Romans 6:20 NIV) He basically says, “you were free from the control of righteousness, because you were under the mastery or control of sin.”
Instead of listening and repenting, Cain in his resentment goes to the extreme of killing his brother. Sin and anger leads to irrational actions. Killing Abel was not going to make Cain acceptable before God. It wasn’t Abel’s fault that he obeyed and Cain did not. Getting rid of the righteousness person, does not make sin and rebellion acceptable. Taking your anger at God out on another person doesn’t solve the problem.
However, we see attitudes and actions that seem to reflect that in our day. Often the presence of God’s people living as light and salt in our world serves as an irritant to those who are steeped in living life according to their own standards. There is an attempt to “silence” the voice of the righteous so the wrong doing of others is not so obvious.
We can also observe times when individuals are upset, mad or disappointed in God and they “take it out” on others. It may be Christian family members, church members in general or “the church.” Unfortunately some “ambassadors” for Christ (2 Cor 5:17) do not represent Christ well, which can harm how people view believers and the Church. But what I am referring to are those who in their misconceptions about God and their unrealistic expectations about God, attack a “brother” (or “sister”) instead of taking an introspective look at their own lives.
In the case of the first family, the parents suffered greatly. They lost both sons. The younger at the hand of violence of the older and the older when he became a fugitive on the run. It is important to remember that a failure of personal responsibility and accountability has ramifications on others in greater ways than we realize.
The proper response is to “own” and “confess” our sin and misdeeds. “Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.” (Psa. 32:5 NLT) The word “finally” seems to indicate that confession came “later than sooner.” You will find that “sooner” is better, but in the final analysis coming to a point of owning and addressing our disobedience is better than taking actions that make our situation worse.