So we must be careful when we start to become envious of others. Then, apparently not getting over it, Genesis 4:8 says ‘One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him’ (NLT). The natural human reaction to envy others isn’t based on logic and as it did to Cain it can lead us to do the wrong things. Envying Others Leads Us To Do The Wrong Things Similarly, we see someone get promoted on the job, but instead of reasoning that it’s because of their hard work, we think they are lucky or get special treatment. We see a person with a nice home, but we don’t see their years of sacrifices saving for it. We tend to envy people rather than consider what they had to do to get the results they got. Given the reason that God rejected Cain, it tells us that Abel simply did the right thing.Ĭain’s envious reaction towards Abel seems to be human nature. But it wasn’t that God thought Abel was better than Cain. Both gifts could have.ĭespite him being told he didn’t do the right thing, Cain still envied Abel. It wasn’t that only his or Abel’s gift could be accepted. In Genesis 4:7 God told him that if he did what was right he would be accepted. Although Abel had nothing to do with Cain’s gift and God’s rejection of it, Cain got angry and killed him. The next lesson Cain and Abel teach us is don’t envy others. You can learn more about how everyone’s best is different in my article 3 Lessons To Learn From The Widow’s Offering. Like he saw Cain and Abel’s heart, he sees ours and knows what we’re truly giving. Each person’s circumstance is different, but God knows everything.
But if that person had $500, but you only had $20 then you actually gave more in terms of percentage. On the surface, it appears that the person gave more than you. Using money as an example, if someone gave $50 dollars, but you gave $10. Everyone’s Best Is Differentīefore going into the next lesson, an important point to note about this Cain and Abel lesson is that your best is different from other people’s best. If we wouldn’t want anything from someone because they showed a lack of care, we shouldn’t do it to others. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength Mark 12:30 NIVĪs for giving to people, The Bible says the second greatest command is to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:31). When we take what we offer God lightly we have a heart similar to Cain’s. What Cain gave reflected a heart that doesn’t highly honor God.
So when we give anything to him it’s more about our hearts toward him than the thing itself. As for God, He doesn’t need anything from us. This applies to giving to both God and people. Give Like Abel, Not Like Cainįollowing Abel’s example, we should strive to give our best in every area of life. On the other hand, Cain presented “some” of his crops. Abel’s gift was the “best portions” of the “firstborn” lambs. Notice the difference in how Abel’s gift was described. In verse 4, it says “Abel also brought a gift-the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock.” (NLT). At first, it doesn’t seem like anything was wrong with what Cain presented but after reading the description of Abel’s gift we see a difference. In Genesis 4:3, it says “When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord” (NLT).
That lesson is what we give makes a difference. That reason brings us to the first lesson the story of Cain and Abel teaches us. If we take a closer at how The Bible describes each of their gifts, we can see the potential reason why God accepted one and rejected the other. The Lord accepted Abel’s gift but didn’t accept Cain’s.