Cain got angry; furious. Both he and his younger brother, Abel, had made offerings to God and his had been rejected. Cain`s reaction strongly suggests that this was not the first time that he had tried to serve God on his own terms. His reaction, furthermore, gives us a clue that he had a dim view, or a negative attitude for quite some time. And so, by the time God approached (Genesis 4:7) by saying "...If you do well, will you not be accepted? And, if you do not well, sin lies at the door, And its desire is for you..." we see that Cain had a choice to make.
In our pervious study we considered what could happen for Cain if he would`ve decided to change course by doing good. Let`s revisit 1 Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation "taken you" but such as "common to man..." This portion of the verse assures us that we are often very much aware of opposite choices, yet may choose the wrong, just as Cain did. The question, then, becomes, why do we intentionally choose to do what we clearly know we shouldn`t? One way to find clarity as to why we intentionally choose to choose what we shouldn`t is based on the dynamic nature of sin.
Its important to grasp what is revealed when God said that "Sin lies at the door..." This was the very first time the word "sin" was mentioned in the bible. Some students of scripture learn the value of the "Law of First Mention." It tells us that to better understand a particular word or biblical doctrine, we should find the first time the word or doctrine is revealed and study that passage. The reasoning behind this practice is that the bible`s first mention of a concept provides the simplest and clearest presentation. Then in successive order or chronological sequence the word or concept is further developed, magnified or deepened.
Its therefore significant to consider why God chose to employ this specific metaphor for describing "sin" the very first time it`s mentioned in the bible. Here, Genesis 4:7 Sin is described by God as a savage beast crouching in attack mode very close to its would-be victim. Furthermore, the would-be victim is unaware that he is being stalked, and does not know just how close the beast is, until God; the omniscient one provides advanced warning. Oh yes! As others have rightly stated, " No great sin is committed prior to being revealed at the door first."
The image intents to reveal "sin" as a verb. Let me be clear, in view we have here, the active principle of sin, whereby God expressed a "high intensity message" that clearly conveyed his holy position relative to sin`s deadly potential and ever-increasing influential power upon humans when we refuse to deal with sin appropriately. Moreover, God knew that employing this high intensity message was the most effective way to surly grab Cain`s attention. After receiving it, Cain had to reevaluate his position and understanding of the source of the information (God) and the information provided by the source.: the omniscient one. Get this: In this particular case, since the message was unwelcomed, the human tendency and preference would be to change our opinion of either God, or the God-given information. This truth points not just to Cain, but to OUR need to go to the root cause. Henry David Thoreau quotes..."There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."
Therefore, I`ve learned from much research and prayer, and now share ( from a spiritual warfare perspective) when seeking root causes, how Its very important to note that: Every deed germinates according to its kind. The Lord Jesus touched on this same truth , Matthew 7:18 "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit."
We know that unlike trees. that sin does not grow out of the ground. We know that some evil thoughts are diabolical at the root. However, in the context of the Law Of First Mentioned, "sin" in Genesis 4:7 originated from Adam`s failure in Eden. Romans 5:12-14 "When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. His sin spread throughout all the world, so everything began to grow old and die, for all sinned. (We know that it was Adam`s sin that caused this) because although of course, people were sinning from the time of Adam until Moses, God did not in those days judge them guilty of death for breaking his laws-because he had not yet given his laws to them, nor told them what he wanted them to do So when their bodies died it was not for their own sins since they themselves had never disobeyed God`s special law against eating the forbidden fruit, as Adam had. What a contrast between Adam and Christ who was yet to come!"
Psalm 51: 5 " But I was born a sinner, yes, from the moment my mother conceived me," Mark 7:21-23 "For from within, out of man`s heart come evil thoughts of lust, theft, murder, adultery, wanting what belongs to others, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, pride, and all other folly. All of these vile things come from within; they are what pollute you and make you unfit for God." Romans 7:21-25 "It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love to do Gods will so far as my new nature is concerned; but there is something else deep within me, in my lower nature that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. In my mind I want to be God`s willing servant but instead I find myself still enslaved to sin. So you see how it is; my new life tells me to do right, but the old nature that is still inside me loves to sin, Oh what a terrible predicament I`m in! Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature? Thank God! It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord. He has set me free."
WHEN WE CHOOSE TO CHOOSE WRONG
The above truths help to explain why humans often intentionally choose to do wrong. To put the truth of how every deed germinates according to its kind another way, is to say that every sin tells upon its nature and is also comparable, to the Lord saying that you know a tree by the fruit it bears. Furthermore, such evil action often creates a repetitive cycle of itself which makes it more and more easier to be comfortable with doing and displaying evil. Keep the significance of these truths in mind, because they are not just linked to why God approached Cain. You see, just as God came to Cain, he also proceeded toward others throughout human history. Through grace and mercy God will speak to humankind in effort to reveal the way to escape such corruption. One major reason relative to the Christian faith was so that true believer`s would have the opportunity to develop, gradually reflect and eventually project the image of Jesus Christ upon the earth. (see Romans 8:29-30)
In order to achieve this God would reveal various stages or processes that expose what we need to know about how every sin tells upon its nature, and show us how repetitive cycles of sin develop and increasingly gain influence over its victims. I`m ever grateful for those who came before us, who God employed to shed light upon these matters. The early church fathers, for example, provided much information relative to the kind of stages we go through when it comes to being tempted or lured away from God. As I humbly stand upon the shoulders of those who diligently and faithfully pursued God , and through continued prayer and meditation on God`s holy word, I pray even now that the following words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, oh LORD my strength and my redeemer. Amen.
Let`s consider the process. First, the initial evil suggestion arises from within the person and draws the attention of him/her whereby tempting or enticing the person. Its significant to understand that when the evil thought first surfaces, if the person feels even a little bit of pleasure from the suggestion, or is somewhat attracted to what is offered, no matter how seemingly unimportant or insignificant the arousal may seem, the human "will" is already leaning toward or is being lured to the second stage.
For example, let`s turn to the movie "300" and consider the process of being tempted, as experienced by Ephialtes of Trachis. History does record how the Spartan, Ephialtes, who`s name in Greek means "nightmare" betrayed his homeland. Ephialtes initially wanted to join King Leonidas Spartan army warning the king of a secret path the Persian enemies could use to outflank and surround the Spartans.
Although history does record 480 BC ancient Greece the "Battle of Thermopylae" between the Spartans and the Persians, it was more like 4,000 Spartan warriors not 300. They were tough as nails and did go against the largest army probably ever assembled in the ancient world. In the movie "300" Ephialtes is proyrayed as a severely deformed Spartan, and although he is brave, his physical limitations prevent him from raising his arm (shield) so he cannot be part of the "phalanx"(a vital part of the Spartan battle formation). You see, if King Leonidas would have allowed Ephialtes to join the ranks of his elite army, doing so would have compromised their battle formation. The king offered him other assignments, but they would have placed Ephialtes in the "rear with the gear." The idea was unacceptable to Ephialtes. At some point after being rejected an evil idea surfaced within Ephialtes drawing his attention. Surely, it brought a little bit of pleasure to him, and before long he finds himself before the Persian ruler, Xerxes
In the particular scene of the movie, Ephialtes listens intently when Xerxes says, "What the Spartans did was cruel to reject you. (background is full of women, with little or no clothing on, seductively twirling and twisting, all around Ephialtes as the king speaks. Some women, every minute or so, gently rubbing Ephialtes.) Xerxes continues, " I am kind, everything you could ever desire, every happiness, every pleasure you could image, your fellow Greeks denied you, I will grant. Embrace me as your king and god." Ephialtes responds emphatically, "Yes, I want it all! Wealth and women!" ( See attached photos of Ephialtes)
Let`s get back to Cain. In my thinking, the initial evil suggestion was to tempt Cain, by fueling his tension (anger or depression), then at other times, ever-so-deceptively relieving the very same tension that it fueled, byway of additional suggestions, mental images and even past pain-filled memories. Oh how deceitful and desperately wicked the heart can be! Know this: No matter how harmless thoughts may seem, all thoughts have the power to create or destroy.
It was towards the end of this initial process when God approached Cain in Genesis 4:6 to forewarn Cain because it had gotten easier and easier for Cain`s will to lean closer and closer toward the evil suggestions that began to bombard his mind during this first stage. Such an bombardment describes a process when tension, gratification, and even remorse or guilt battle for center stage within the human mind. It`s within reason to suggest that tension would be on stage when Cain was angry or when he was feeling depressed. For example, whenever Cain was furious, perhaps evil thoughts steadily fueled Cain`s fury by repeatedly constructing mental images that portrayed his younger brother SEEMINGLY SINISTERLY GLOATING each time God rejected Cain`s offerings. Such a repetitive process further inflames an already volatile situation. When a situation becomes volatile we know things inevitably get worst, which magnifies the tension. The magnification and vividness increases apace with each mental snapshot, step-by-step, they depict and flash mental images in Cain`s mind. Such mental pictures could`ve glaringly portrayed Abel laughing or smiling sinisterly at him. Keep in mind that this scenario only illustrates the process of what could occur within the first stage of being tempted, and because anger and depression are always secondary reactions this illustration reveals how it could easily apply to times when tension was center stage in Cain`s mind.
TO SOOTHE AND SIMULTANEOUSLY SHOVE
Next, consider how gratification has the capacity to push tension off the stage in the human mind. Doing so is naturally soothing, but this kind of relief is very deceptive , especially early in the first stage of being tempted or lured away. You see, Gratification could`ve kicked tension off the stage in Cain`s mind by providing promises that soothed him instantly as Cain contemplated the rewards he visualized. Let me be clear: Some mental images have the capacity to simultaneously soothe the would-be-victim in the same moment he/she envisions what is promised. For example, Cain could`ve experienced a calming peace of mind when thinking about ways to make his brother`s offerings unacceptable to God. In his private thoughts Cain could`ve been talking to himself saying , " All I need to do is to disrupt Abel`s efforts. Perhaps I should just slow him down, or run interference to wipe that sinister grin off his face!
These kind of suggestions soothe because the evil images could gradually suggest that Cain simply sabotage his younger brother`s offerings to serve God. Then the following kind of suggestions shove the tension off center stage " He won`t be laughing then, and he will know what it feels like to be rejected!" Then the following suggestions quickly usher "gratification" to center stage within the mind: " I will feel better and then I can keep it moving."
I can`t overemphasize how such thoughts deceptively pacify at the same instance they entice or lure would-be victims away from what God defines as good. This is the process: Suggestions surface that soothe,+ "comfort" Then follows Suggestions that "agitate" and + Shove tension off stage+ Then Gratification "vigorously seizes" center stage in the mind. Keep in mind how although I share this process in steps, that they are actually occurring simultaneously with the arousal of each evil thought. Sin always deceives, because it can never ever deliver what it promises. Oh yes, the deceitfulness of sin is what it is!
Matthew Henry wrote that sin is deceitful because "It appears fair, but is filthy; it appears pleasant, but is pernicious., it promises much, but it performs nothing." Spurgeon said "Sin slyly insinuates itself and by slow degrees prevail, therefore must we carefully guard against it"
Arousal of Guilt or Remorse
The human conscience has been described as the voice within. Functionally when operating properly, from a biblical perspective, a "good conscience" guides in the right direction and encourages us when we do good and criticizes us when we do wrong. Furthermore, the human conscience can malfunction in the sense that it constantly condemns and accuses the believer for every little action. It can also function as an "evil conscience" , where when it also encourages us. However, a truly evil conscience will encourage you to do only what is evil. And last but surely not lest, the conscience can even be rendered inoperable. (see 1 Timothy 4:2)
Lets recall how significant it is to feel just a little bit of pleasure, or be somewhat attracted to the evil suggestion. As stated elsewhere, no matter how seemingly unimportant or insignificant the wicked suggestion may seemingly be, the will, is already leaning toward what is offered. Its crucial when tracing the stages of this process to know when we may gain or lose ground in this battle. In this scenario its within reason to suggest that towards the end of the first stage (when Cain was about to enter the second stage) that he had began to listen too and linger on the evil manifestations that surfaced in his mind, which in-turn reveals how his conscience may have been functioning. Prior to entering the second stage Cain`s conscience must have been operating fairly well. This was highly probable since Cain `s conscience was still in the fight. We can reach this logical understanding because their were times when the truth about his brother`s character would surface in Cain`s mind. Carefully consider for example, in this particular scenario, ( if his conscience was functioning properly) the truth about his brother`s character and personality could have challenged the evil mental snapshots which more than likely DISTORTED THEN VIVIDLY DISPLAYED his brother`s healthy smile into CALCULATING SINISTER SUGGESTIONS that progressively transformed into EVIL LAUGHTER. You see in stage one of the process of temptation, true quilt and or remorse will battle against the deceitfulness. Therefore, absence or presence of true guilt can be a strong indicator for measuring the gain or lose of ground in the battle. This illustrates how Cain perhaps initially fought against the evil inclinations that surfaced in his mind.
Know this: The human mind when presented a contradiction will not remain passive. Check this out, Wikipedia records the following, " In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance occurs when a person holds contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values, and is typically experienced as psychological stress when they participate in an action that goes against one or more of them. According to the theory, when two actions or ideas are not consistent with each other, people do all in their power to change them until they become consistent. The discomfort is triggered by the person`s belief clashing with new information perceived, wherein they try to find a way to resolve the contradiction to reduce their discomfort."
In my thinking, when contemplating what the above theory conveyed, I began considering the probable levels of psychological stress perhaps experienced by Cain. I pondered over how Cain`s belief may have clashed with the new "God-given" information (Genesis 4:7) he perceived which contradicted the evil suggestions and mental pictures that had been bombarding his mind.
In a Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (1957), Leon Festinger proposed that human beings strive for internal psychological consistency to function mentally in the real world. A person who experiences internal inconsistency tends to become psychologically uncomfortable and is motivated to reduce the cognitive dissonance. They tend to make changes to justify the stressful behavior, either by adding new parts to the cognition causing the psychological dissonance (rationalization) or by avoiding circumstances and contradictory information likely to increase the magnitude of the cognitive dissonance (confirmation bias).
Getting back to Cain, It`s important to note that if his choice had been merely between something Cain liked and something he disliked, initially, it would not have been a very difficult choice to make. Furthermore, as others have taught on this subject, doubt creeps in when the choice is more difficult, for example, when it is between two things which the person likes and his his preference is relatively small. Subsequently, the question becomes more difficult when the alternatives offered are complex. You see, when each alternative involves some satisfaction and dissatisfaction, or if in this case, Cain decided to choose without being certain as to the outcome he would receive, undoubtedly , all of this would`ve complicated matters. It is a human tendency to make the valid assumption, that Cain would`ve choose whichever alternative that was more attractive to him.
Although it`s evident that he experienced quilt and perhaps remorse when truth about his brother`s character and personality contradicted the evil suggestions, mental pictures, and pain-filled memories that; surfaced in his mind. However, the gratification that repeatedly surfaced felt so good, (the deceitfulness of sin) began to fill Cain`s mind, feelings and his will. This is how sin begins to exert its cumulative power.
Jeremiah 17:9 " The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it? " I cannot overemphasize how the repetition of sin makes it progressively more and more easy to do what`s evil, and how it increases its wicked influence upon its victim. Surely, their are many ways you can deceive yourself. Proverbs 14: 8 "The wise man looks ahead. The fool attempts to fool himself and won`t face facts." When humans refuse to embrace the facts we inevitably will entertain what`s false too long. Doing this, equates to lingering in darkness too long. this truth takes us to the next stage of the process. Amen.
