Raising Cain
by Bishop T. Garrott Benjamin, Jr., D.Min.
Genesis 4
1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
So much of our community life has become chaotic because the spirit of Cain instead of the Spirit of Christ is controlling us. One only has to pick up the newspaper and see the daily headlines that indicate the community is in a crisis characterized by murder, mayhem, and all forms of madness. Violence is holding hands with greed and producing so much pain around the planet. Murder and violence are no new phenomena. It is simply the spirit of Cain where low self-esteem produces envy and hate, which leads to murder and war.
The first murder ever recorded comes within the first four chapters of Genesis and takes place between the first two children born to the first two people on the planet. Sin in Adam and disobedience in Adam began a chain of curses upon the children of men that is only broken by the blood of Jesus. Creation and chaos began in the black community.
We must look at Cain’s offering. The question is why didn’t Cain bring the first and best to God? Was it a lack of training or was it willful disobedience?
We must answer God’s question. Is it because of low self-esteem? “If Cain does not love Cain…” Is it because of the relationship with your father, Adam, or the lack thereof? Look at the faces of the so-called young gangstas and thugs – low self-esteem, self-hate, envy and jealousy, greed, anger, hatred and haterism, violence, murder and war. It is all a spirit, the spirit of Cain passed on from generation to generation.
We must accept God’s challenge. God’s challenge implied for us to acknowledge our sins (confess), repent and follow the example of your brother. What did Cain do? He did not acknowledge or confess, he did not repent, and killed the example instead of following it.
Whatever you do, don’t kill the example, follow it. It is not all the fault of our children. They need an example. “Lamps do not talk, but they do shine.” We are responsible for the training of our children. The parents are the first teacher. Flood the home with faith, hope, and love, or we wind up raising Cain.
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