Cain’s Example

I John 3:11-15

“For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.” (I John 3:11-13)

In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus said that God’s standard for human conduct could be summed up in two simple laws. “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Every commandment is designed to help us fulfill one of these two. As we saw in John 14:23, Jesus stated that love for him would result in obedience to his commands. “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words,” and his command is, “…That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” according to John 13:34.

The story of Cain and Able is found in Genesis 4. God had given directions as to what was an acceptable sacrifice. Cain decided to ignore the directions, clearly showing a lack of respect for God. When Able was rewarded for obeying, Cain became jealous. God told him that he could still do right and receive the same reward. If he chose not to do so, he would be guilty of sin. Rather than doing what was needed to receive his own reward, Cain murdered Able to keep him from enjoying his reward.

Several years ago, a family started attending our church. The man got saved and stopped drinking and doing the things he had been doing. As a result he was promoted at work and gained a lot of respect. His wife resented his popularity, stating she’d rather have him be a drunk than have people say such things about him, and set out to destroy his reputation. She physically attacked him on way to work, leaving bruises and damaging his clothing then throwing liquor over his clothes to give the appearance that he’d been drunk. When tried to protect himself, she accused him of abuse.

She stopped paying the bills, accusing him of spending his check on liquor and other women, and apparently hired a couple to put him in compromising positions. Because of the turmoil, he lost his job, dropped out of church and finally went back to drinking. The wife was extremely talented, but chose to destroy her husband rather than earning respect herself. A few years ago, a similar story was reported in the news involving a professional football player who was sentenced to prison for spousal abuse. The wife confessed to having deliberately destroyed his reputation because she was jealous.

Property is vandalized because the vandal resents someone else having something nice but isn’t willing to earn his own. Businesses rip people off and destroy their lives rather than building a solid business, as demonstrated by the financial sector in the present financial crisis. Politicians accuse others of corruption and destroy reputations to conceal what they are doing. The lack of concern for others is obvious. It should not be a surprise that they hate those who believe in God and are blessed of him.

Unpleasant as they are, we know who those who openly follow the world’s program are. The dangerous ones are those who, like Cain, pretend to serve God while rejecting his commands. Able loved Cain, and the man in our church loved his wife. Both assumed the feeling was mutual, and both were wrong. It is not wise to make such assumptions. John has given a way of checking ourselves and others for our benefit.

“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” (I John3:14-15)

We know that we are saved, just as the world does, by our love for other Christians, as John 13:35 advises. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” That love is to extend even to those who do not do or teach what they should, according to II Thessalonians 3:14-15. “And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”

Our love for those who don’t conform to our standards is even more indicative of our Christianity than our love for those who do exactly what we say, as we see in Matthew 5:43-46. “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?"

Hatred and efforts to destroy or run down those who do not conform to one’s beliefs or practices standards implies that one is no different then the unsaved world, that he does not actually know the Lord, and is not saved. While we are not to judge, we should examine the fruit. The wrong attitude indicates the wrong spirit.