January 15 - do what is right

Drawn to the darkness. . . 

 

That’s an interesting thought isn't it? 

 

It’s not like any of us can say that we like chaos or are looking for it. 

 

But at the same time, how many of you like to be told what to do? We like to have the power in our hands to do whatever we want, however we want, and whenever we want. It’s a rebellion against order. 

 

What does it look like? Well it rears its head in simple, sneaky, hidden, and obvious ways all at once. As we look at a few stories in the Bible the next couple of days, we will see what this looks like. The thing to watch for is the indicator that something is out of alignment and pursuing darkness instead of God’s plan. 

 

And we start in Genesis 4. 

 

Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “with the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.

 

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering-fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 

 

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” 

 

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 

 

Then the Lord said to Cain, “where is your brother Abel?”

 

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

 

The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” 

 

So many things in this story. 

 

First remember, this is after Adam and Eve have already let the chaos of disorder back into creation. So now, Cain and Abel are subject to this chaos. 

 

But that doesn’t mean they were ruled by it. They were just familiar with the fact that it was there and accessible for them if they chose to give into it. 

 

What do we see with Abel? 

 

He understands the way creation works, and is wiling to bring God the first fruits of his flocks. This means that he took the best that he had and brought it to the Lord. But Cain did not. He only offered a portion of what he had. 

 

Now I can make the argument that Abel had it easy. After all, he simply watched the flocks and kept them safe. They did their natural duty to reproduce. Abel didn’t have to tell them to multiply. He simply created the environment where the flocks would be safe, and the conditions would be right for reproduction. 

 

NOTE - this is the two part mandate that was given to mankind. Be fruitful and multiply. Not only was this the command for Adam and Eve, but it was also the command to rule the earth. They were to make sure that there was right conditions for all things to thrive. Abel is the first one we see making sure this is possible. He was fruitful in his conditioning of the environment, so his flocks were able to multiply. 

 

So my argument is that is was easier for Abel to bring the Lord his first fruits. The Lord created the flocks to multiply. They were even given this command as well. So now, Abel didn’t have that much to do. He simply sat back and allowed nature to take its course. 

 

See, when you allow things to work within the parameters of God’s wisdom and order, it causes life to exist. That’s the point of order. It brings life into perspective! This made it easy for Abel to bring God his offering. 

 

Cain on the other hand. He was a farmer. 

 

Remember what God had cursed? The ground. 

 

He told Adam that it would produce thistles and that by the blood of his brow he would work and toil in order to produce a crop. Cain firsthand understands what this looks like. He has now worked and worked, only to see a small crop unfold. I bet he watched Abel and his offering and thought to himself, “Yeah, but you didn’t have to do anything.” So when he brought an offering to the Lord, he was proud at what he produced. Yet he lost sight of the fact that God was still the one who was causing the increase. 

 

So out of jealousy, Cain began to hate his brother Abel. . . In other words, he was embracing the disorder and chaos of the darkness - which by the way, was already trying to consume him because it was looking for what it might devour. 

 

But listen to the warning in Gen 4:6 “then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” 

 

God is warning Cain. The darkness is about to consume you. But you have a choice! You can determine to walk away from it. 

 

But what is part two of our meta-narrative? 

 

Mankind is drawn to the chaos. 

 

Cain saw this opportunity to embrace his anger and sin. 

 

And he murdered Abel. 

 

See, the problem with doing things our way and ignoring the order of God, is that it causes us to make decisions and do things that pull us even further into chaos. This is why God told Cain that sin was desiring to rule over him. The Chaos was looking to consume him. God warned him to rule over it and not let it take him down. 

 

See, when we mess with sin, we open a door. This door allows the all consuming darkness the opportunity to come in and rule over us. But like God told Cain, we must rule over it! We must not let it consume us. And the best way to do that, is to simply not mess with it! 

 

You might find yourself in a place where darkness and chaos have begun to rule over you. It’s never too late to take control. God designed you to rule over darkness. But by nature, if you don’t rule over it, the darkness will consume you. It only knows how to devour and suffocate all forms of life. 

 

Maybe you find yourself right now in the middle of a chaotic season of life. 

 

God isn’t wanting you to be consumed by it. 

 

The instruction to Cain was to “do what is right” 

 

He said, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?”

 

The word accepted here means to be elevated and exalted. God is telling Cain that if he focuses on doing good, He will lift him out of the mess that he finds himself in. 

 

If you want to find yourself in a season where you overcome the darkness around you, practice doing what is right. No, I don’t mean to suggest that we have to work our way into God’s grace. But by practicing what is right, we overcome the darkness that tries to pull us deeper and deeper into chaos. 

 

So set up some habits. 

 

Read your Bible, 

 

Pray, 

 

Fast, 

 

Take time to be with the LORD

 

Because when you do, you will be accepted.