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.”
Genesis 4:6-7 NKJV
Cain was the first fruit of the relation between Adam and Eve after the fall. Everything in his makeup was sinful. Immediately after Adam and Eve fell, sin entered the world. Unrighteousness became the new normal. From Genesis 3, everything went south. So, Cain, being the first seed, came in sin. However, we cannot exonerate him because he had encounters and warnings from God. God admonished him about the intention of sin and the enemy.
God noticed the kind of heart Cain had. He saw that Cain’s heart was deviant and degenerate. God was not trying to show favouritism with either of them. He could see who they were, and He addressed them accordingly. We cannot expect special favours from God when our hearts are filled with sin. Moreover, God does not cover unrighteousness. Anyone living in sin, the seed of Christ is not in him. God came to Cain and told him that sin was crouching at his door. That could mean that Cain was playing around sin with the mind that there was no big deal to it.
Furthermore, any man that would come to God must be consecrated. Such a man cannot allow any iota of unholiness. He would not say it does not matter. How easily one sin can lead to another! If you don’t judge and destroy the first sin, you are open and susceptible to the next temptation. As we see in Cain, anger must be nipped in the bud. Don’t let it fester; destroy it right away because when you nurture anger, it can lead to rebellion against God, and when you rebel against God, there’s no telling where you may end up.
Unjudged and uncontrolled anger can lead to murder. “Oh,” you say, “I would never murder anyone.” However, what about in your heart? That’s where it begins, and often, that’s where it takes place. Jesus said, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matt. 15:19).
So, is your heart not cultivating evil? Are you not nursing sinful thoughts, though they may look minute? God has seen your heart, and today, there is a call. Sin is nestling in your bosom. You must get rid of it! Rule over it!
In conclusion, Cain murdered his brother, and he became cut off from God completely. His life became empty and vague; he became a vagabond. Should we allow our lives to end like this?
