Two shopkeepers were bitter rivals. Their stores were directly across the street from each other, and they would spend each day keeping track of each other’s business. If one got a customer, he would smile in triumph at his rival.
One night an angel appeared to one of the shopkeepers in a dream and said, "I will give you anything you ask, but whatever you receive, your competitor will receive twice as much. Would you be rich? You can be very rich, but he will be twice as wealthy. Do you wish to live a long and healthy life? You can, but his life will be longer and healthier. What is your desire?"
The man frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, "Here is my request: Strike me blind in one eye!"
One sign of jealousy is when it’s easier to show sympathy and "weep with those who weep" than it is to exhibit joy and "rejoice with those who rejoice."
As human beings, we love to make comparisons. Almost all of our purchases are based on comparisons. One person buys a Ford because of the smooth handling. Another person buys a Chrysler because of the superior design. Someone else buys a Chevy because they believe GM makes a better motor. Whatever the reason, each person buys his/her vehicles based on comparisons with other cars in the same category.
The same can be said for our clothes, our appliances, our food – almost any purchase we make is made after comparing products. We buy based on style, quality, value or price – but we almost always compare first.
The problem with making comparisons is that we take them too far. We have a tendency to determine the value of ourselves and other human beings by comparing one person to another.
How many times have we thought, “I’m better than so and so because he/she . . .?”
You know, as I thought about all of this during the week, I began to realize that there isn’t one thing that I can think of that I do, but that somebody I know does it better. Elmer is more disciplined to exercise, Rich plays better golf, just about everyone I know is more organized, Wally sings better, I can name a hundred guys who are better preachers, and on it goes.
Television puts excellence in every living room, so we see national or world best. This week, if you have been watching, you have seen the worlds greatest athletes competing for gold at the Olympics. The thing about the Olympics is that it proves that only a very very small percentage of the population can be the best at anything.
If excellence comes by comparison, by excelling among my peers than I might as well quit. Ordinary is as good as I am going to get.
You know, the more I have thought about this, the more I have realized how much different God is than we are. The verse in Isaiah that tells us, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.” speaks volumes to this. We – human beings – need to constantly compare. We feel good or bad about ourselves based on how we stack up against others. God, on the other hand, has only one standard. He values everything based on His excellence.
When we think of the story of Cain and Abel, we sometimes picture the scene like this;
Two men – brothers – Cain and Abel
Cain is a farmer
Abel is a rancher
Cain goes out to harvest his crops
As he does, he puts together an offering to God
Abel also puts together an offering to God
He picks out an animal and offers it to God
God looks at both offerings – Cain’s on the left, Abel’s on the right
After considering them both, He chooses Abel’s over Cain’s.
It’s as if God is saying – I’ll take the lamb chops over the brussel sprouts and spinach.”
This is not the scenario. This is not how this story happens. Let’s slow down and look at it. First of all, we are never told that the offerings were made together. Each offering is made independently of the other. In verse 3, we are told that Cain brought an offering from the fruit of the ground. In verse 4, we are that Abel also made an offering – from the firstlings of his flock. Nowhere are we told that these offerings were made together – as if they are in competition. We are simply told that they each made an offering to God.
God, on His part considered each offering – not compared to each other – He considered each offering based on its own merit. As He did, He made this conclusion in verses 4 and 5; “And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard.”
Understand this, God did not reject Cain’s offering because Abel’s was better. And, He did not accept Abel’s because Cain’s was inferior. Remember this, God could have accepted both offerings and He could have rejected both offerings. The fact of the matter is, He didn’t do either. Why? Why did God accept Abel’s and reject Cain’s?
Let’s see if we can look at these offerings from God’s perspective and maybe we can make some conclusions – conclusions that may help us better offer our sacrifices to God.
First, let’s consider Cain’s offering.
Who was Cain?
Cain was the first born son of Adam and Eve. This is significant because of the promise we looked at last week in Genesis 3:15 when God told Satan that He would:
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
God had promised a deliverer – one who would crush the head of Satan. We know today that He was referring to Jesus Christ. However, Adam and Eve were not aware of this.
“So, when their first boy was born, Eve named him “Cain.” Cain” is his name, but the meaning of the name is very significant. The Hebrew word “Cain” literally means of God. Literally translated, Genesis 4:1 could read; “Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have a man child – the begotten of God.” A title that later was given to Jesus.
You see, Adam and Eve were certain that this son of theirs was the child who would eventually crush Satan’s head. Can you imagine the hope and the optimism that came with his birth. Adam and Eve must have looked forward to the day when the one who had deceived them would be destroyed. They must have longed for the fellowship and peace they knew in the Garden, and now they believed they could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
It wasn’t long, however, before the hope and optimism began to dwindle. In fact, you can see their disillusionment. By the time their second son was born, they called him “Abel.”
“Abel” by the way means; “emptiness.” It is the same word that Solomon uses in the book of Ecclesiastes when he says, “Vanity of Vanities, all is Vanity.”
Why is all of this important? Well, I believe that it tells us an awful lot about the person Cain. What a disappointment he must have been. So much so, that when his little brother is born, his parents would lament, “Oh no, not another worthless child.”
Think about it. They had hoped that their first would be the deliverer. Instead they got a person who was selfish, prideful, and egocentric. His every thought seemed to focus on his wants, his needs, his fulfillment. He wasn’t about to deliver the human race from their sins, because he was the epitome of a sinful person.
Do you see the irony in the names these boys received? Cain – which means “of God,” turns out to be worthless. Abel – which means “worthless” – turns out to be the righteous one.
Well, let’s get back to our story. Cain grows up and becomes a farmer. He goes out into his fields one day and harvest some of his crops. As he is gathering his crops, he decides that he will put together an offering for God. He grabs some of his wheat and corn and milo and alfalfa, and combines it all together and offers it as a burnt offering to the Lord.
The Lord, on his part considers Cain’s offering and decides that it is unacceptable. The question that I have to ask is’ “Why not?” Why wasn’t Cain’s offering acceptable to God?
Some people have suggested that it was because the offering did not contain blood. They believe that for any offering to be acceptable, an animal would have to be sacrificed.
This may not be the reason. In Leviticus 2, God goes to great lengths to instruct Moses on the proper way to make grain offerings. He concludes by saying that they are pleasing and acceptable to Him.
Cain was a farmer. Giving a grain offering would be a natural and acceptable thing to do.
You see, it wasn’t the content of the offering that God rejected it was the person making the offering. Notice that we are told; “but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard.” It was not just the offering that God rejected, but Cain himself.
Turn with me to 1 John 3. I want you to see verses 11 and 12.
For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; 12not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.
You see, the problem was not in what Cain was offering, the problem was in Cain himself.
1 John tells us that “his deeds were evil.” The best way that I can explain it is that Cain had a problem of the heart. It was evil and full of wickedness.
It seems to me that Cain’s sacrifice was more of an attempt to appease God than it was an act of faith and worship.
It reminds me so much of the Christianity that we see practiced today. In our world today, most people think that Christianity is practiced on Sunday morning from 10:00 to noon. A person goes to church every Sunday, hoping that this sacrifice will appease God. Then, from noon of Sunday till 10:00 the next Sunday, they live their lives the way they want. With no regards to a holy and just God, we practice all kinds of selfishness. We are filled with ego and pride. We live from day to day filling our lives with things that offend our Lord. We give no regard to our neighbors, to the hurting, to the needy. We have very little time for devotions, prayer, or Bible study. About the only time that we remember God is when we want something else from Him.
God spoke to me about this two weeks ago at District Prayer Conference, when our District Superintendent, Doug Grogan, reminded all of us Pastors that the success of our churches is not based on what happens on Sunday mornings, it is based on what happens from Monday through Saturday.
Let me put it this way. What we do within these four walls every Sunday morning beginning at 10:30 is not Christianity. It is worship. It is our offering to God. Christianity is what we do when we leave the confines of this sanctuary. God can only accept our worship on Sunday morning if our lives demonstrate our faith the rest of the week. That is where Cain failed. He believed that his worship would appease God and that the rest of his life wouldn’t matter. When he discovered that his worship was not acceptable to God, he became angry.
It reminds me of the child who doesn’t get his way. You know the scene.
Dad is sitting on the chair, reading the newspaper when his son or daughter comes into the room.
“Dad,” he says, “I love you.”
Dad – being rather wise to the tactic, says, “Uh-huh, what do you want?”
“Nothing Dad, I just wanted to tell you how much I love you and what a great dad you are.”
“OK – thanks,” Dad responds.
“Oh by the way Dad, can I borrow the car and stay out late tonight – I’m going to a party.”
Now, the father understands, “No, I told you before, you can’t go our past 11:00 and I need the car tonight.”
So, what happens? What does the son do? He goes stomping out of the room, forgetting how much he loves Dad and what a great guy he is. The worship was only a way to appease Dad and get what he wants. There was no real meaning attached to it, except for a selfish desire.
Doesn’t that sound like Cain? He comes to God with an offering. God, seeing that his heart isn’t right cannot accept it. Cain, instead of repenting and changing his life, storms off angry, bitter and jealous.
“I can’t get my own way.”
God loves Abel more than me
If I get rid of Abel, there will be no one else and God will have to accept me
And the heart stays black and cold and unresponsive to God’s leading.
Let’s take a moment to look at Abel’s offering and see why it is different. Why was God willing to accept Abel’s offering?
The main reason, and probably the only reason is found in Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
You see, Abel’s offering to God was better, because it was based on faith. If there is one word that makes a difference in these offerings, this is it – Faith. By faith, Abel offered to God . . .
He knew he could not appease God. He understood that he needed God’s grace. He understood that he was at God’s mercy, and so he made a sacrifice that represented his heart’s desire to follow the Lord.
With a broken and contrite heart, Abel sacrificed the first-born of his flock. By faith, he asked for and received God’s grace and forgiveness.
His worship was from the heart.
Go back to Genesis 4 with me. I want you to notice something very important.
Look at verse 4: “God had regard for Abel and his offering.”
Now verse 5 – “But for Cain and for his offering He had no regard.”
You see, God regarded the person over the offering. God had regard for Abel, but not for Cain. Why, because of the their heart. Not because of their offering. God regarded the person over the offering.
Understand, worship is a matter of the heart – it is not a matter of form.
Cain’s form was fine – there was nothing wrong with a grain offering. The problem was a matter of the heart. He could make all of the sacrifices that he wanted to, but until his heart was right he could never have a relationship with God.
I hate to say this, but there are millions of people all over the world this morning who are in church, but they are just like Cain. Their form is fine – but they have no faith. They believe in God, but they do not have a relationship with the Savior.
They attempt to appease God every Sunday with their sacrifice. Thinking that God loves their church attendance. They are leaders in their churches and in their communities. They are teaching Sunday School, working in the nursery, singing on stage. As they do, they are hoping that all of this will make them acceptable to God. They believe that they can buy their way into heaven with gifts, good works and by giving money to the church.
The fact of the matter is, God has already been appeased. Jesus Christ bought and paid for our salvation 2000 years ago on the cross of Calvary. Our response must be the same as Abel’s. The only way we can have a relationship with God is through Faith.
What do I mean when I say Faith? Well, most of us understand Faith to mean “trust,” or “believe.”
These are good definitions. In fact, if you think about it, everybody had some kind of faith.
Some trust in their own deeds – believing like Cain that they can do the right things
Some believe that there is no God – a stupid faith, but a faith none the less
Some trust and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
They are the ones who have a relationship with God.
Why was God pleased with Abel’s offering and not Cain’s? Because God was pleased with Abel and not Cain. It doesn’t matter what you sacrifice for God. If your heart is not right with Him, he cannot and will not accept your offering.
However, if you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, your offering, your sacrifice will be a pleasing aroma before the Lord.
