“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” quips Shakespeare in Hamlet. “Something is rotten in God’s Garden” narrates God in the Holy Bible. Perfect Paradise from Genesis 1-2 is just a stone’s throw away. Something … is rotten.
The smell stems from Cain’s relationship with God. In verse three, Cain is described to have offered God an offering from the ground while Abel’s offering to God is described as explicitly coming from the firstborn in his flock. Firstborn meant top notch offering. The lack of a reference to Cain’s offering being the ‘first fruits’ indicates that Cain gave something less than his best.
Something was rotten in Cain’s relationship with God. It led Cain to give God less than the best. It ultimately led Cain to kill his brother. What could have spoiled his relationship with God? Perhaps bitterness that his work was harder than Abel’s. Perhaps jealousy that God seemed to love Abel more than himself. Perhaps both, or neither. What we do know is that something was rotten inside Cain’s heart towards God and Abel (and Cain) suffered for it.
Have you noticed the same happening to you? Have you noticed that when your relationship with God is missing out, someone else in your life gets hurt? The Bible warns us to not grow flippant or nonchalant about our relationship with God because “sin is crouching at your door and it desires to have you.” We all have persons who are either the first benefactors of our relationship with God or the first victims when we have stopped valuing God. The story of Cain and Abel is a lesson in how our intimacy with God is connected to our intimacy with our “brother” or “sister.”
Applying to Your Life:
Take a moment to consider at least one of the following questions:
1) God has an unfailing love for you. What are the factors that cause you to drift away from God like Cain drifted away?
2) Who are the Abel(s) who suffer first (and most) when your relationship to God is waning?
3) How can you better nurture your relationship with God for God’s sake, yours, and all your Abels?
4) What does good fruit look like in your relationship to God and to others?
Steven Blair serves as Pastor of Congregational Care (M-R) at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
