As a parent, I am inclined to point out my child’s mistakes.
“Your teacher called me and said you forgot to do your homework?”
“The teacher didn’t say we needed to do it!”
“Did you forget to close the fridge door again?”
“Nope, wasn’t me (answers my child while sipping milk).”
This sets my brain churning for a judgment! Recalling last Sunday’s lesson at S.O.U.L. In Christ… Adam:
And the man replied, “The woman whom you gave to be with me—she gave to me from the tree and I ate.”
Genesis 3:12 (LEB)
Then Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”
Adam, “(It was) the woman…. She gave to me…. And I ate”
Cain, “I do not know… am I…”
Why is it so easy for man to push away his responsibility? Today, when my child has to face a mistake he made, his inner fears are no different from Adam’s and Cain’s. This is the first trait in human nature. He does not want to admit his mistake, nor does he want to shoulder the responsibility for his misdeed. Can running away resolve his problems?
“So now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive the blood of your brother from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. You shall be a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth.”
Genesis 4:11 (LEB)
Why does God need to pronounce a judgment on our mistakes? Because God cannot allow us to run away from our mistakes, shrugging off all responsibility, and continue to say…“(It was) the woman…. She gave to me…. And I ate”. “I do not know… am I…” Repeatedly shrugging off responsibility of your mistakes will only bring about punishment. In the end, even when you work the ground, the work of your hands no longer brings about any yield. You would have lost the source of your livelihood and must become a restless wanderer on the earth. This is an unchangeable spiritual law.
“Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
Genesis 4:14
Judging myself is the second trait of human nature. In every situation, there are always two judges. Cain gave himself a harsher judgment than God – “whoever finds me will kill me” .Why am I more afraid of God’s judgment, and not of my own judgment? This is human nature – when I am in God’s presence and can no longer shrug off responsibility from my mistakes, I will give myself a harsher judgment than God. “Whoever finds me will kill me” – this is such a harsh condemnation of myself. Have you wondered, why was it that God’s judgment did not come to pass on Cain?
“But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” Genesis 4:15-16 (LEB)
Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. Genesis 4:17 (LEB) Immediately after God’s judgment, Cain starts a family, and had many children. He even built a city! The first city on earth! And named it after his son.
How could this be restless wandering? All of God’s judgment did not come to pass on Cain! If God did not intend for His judgment to come to pass, then why judge Cain in the first place?
“He has made everything suitable in its time. He also has put the past in their hearts, yet no one can grasp what God does from the beginning to the end.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11
What has this proven? Was punishment God’s ultimate goal? God did not intend to resolve the problem of Cain’s sin. God really wanted to see Cain become a new man.
God’s judgment is never to kill you – it is to let you love yourself again.
1. Stop pushing the blame away from yourself. (It is easier to not want to be responsible for your mistakes. It is an easier choice, as it is much easier than becoming a new creation.)
2. Remove self-condemnation and stop blaming yourself. “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.”
3. God gave Cain a piece of land – to live in Nod, east of Eden.Eventually, God gave Cain a choice, but did not tell him how to choose. God’s judgment gave the world’s first murderer a chance to have a son and to build the world’s first city. It gave him a chance to love himself and accept himself again.
Rising above repentance, this is God’s deepest love for man.
Immediately after God judged that Cain would be a restless wanderer, Cain starts a family and even built a city, naming it after his son. And indeed it worked.
Cain…When my child twists my words, I used to think it was just him being mischievous and I would sometimes chide him. But today, to stop my child from running away from his responsibility – as soon as he twists my words, I remind him, do not learn from the serpent! Let your “Yes” be “Yes” and your “No”, “No”.
Repeatedly allowing my child to run away from his responsibility in what he says will bring about judgment. Now I am more alert about teaching my child to bear responsibility for the things he does.