Cain - A Man of Anger

Opportunities to make positive choices are also opportunities to make negative choices. The Bible includes many people who made a negative choice. There are two reasons for this: (1) we can learn from others' mistakes; and (2) we are more likely to recognize ourselves making negative choices than positive. Cain made a wrong decision. As is true of many people in scripture, God included their stories to help us learn from their mistakes. But even Cain had that opportunity. God warned him when danger approached. Cain chose not to listen.

When Abel and Cain agreed to worship God, they each had something different in mind. Their personal sacrifices came from their lives. But the Bible indicates a significant difference in their attitudes. Abel brought the best; Cain brought whatever. It was a careless mistake that Cain compounded by getting angry and jealous at his younger brother. Until this point, the sin was between Cain and God. God warned Cain that he was quickly approaching a point of no return. God graciously granted Cain a second chance to get it right.

Attitudes like jealousy and anger can be rebuked and corrected. Murder cannot be undone. Cain chose to follow the guidance of his anger rather than to follow God. He killed his brother Abel and then offered God an arrogant denial - "Am I my brother's keeper?" Cain became a vivid example of the mess we create when anger is out of control.

What you do with anger will affect your life in many ways. It will also make a big difference to others. As God pointed out to Cain, anger is like a huge billboard in our path which warns: What you do next matters! Anger is a reaction looking for a way to express itself. Anger doesn't think. That's why you have to think for it when you get angry. Without a master, anger hurts and destroys. Mastered, anger offers a forceful response to wrong. Even Jesus got angry, but he mastered it and used it for good.

If you have a problem with anger, listen carefully to God's warning to Cain. Choosing to let God master your anger will bring the blessing that comes with obedience.

Read about Cain's sin and the lessons the Bible teaches from it in: Genesis 4:1-17; Hebrews 11:4; 1 John 3:12; Jude 11