Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We must not be like Cain who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.”
NL Daily Devotion for Thursday, July 4, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Poor Cain. I mean, it totally was not okay that he murdered his brother. But this idea that he did so because his own deeds were evil… um, the dude just farmed grain instead of meat and, for whatever reason, God preferred the meat. Of course the story of Cain and Abel is ahistorical—a folktale to explain the entry of evil into the world. But had it actually happened… well, I really don’t think God plays favorites. So clearly the idea that “God likes you better than me, Abel!” was all in Cain’s head. It arose from petty jealousy. Somehow, Cain wasn’t getting what he wanted out of life and he blamed his brother for being “the good one” and acted out his unhappiness with violence.
And how does this apply to us? I think the vast majority of people blame their unhappiness on external circumstances—my boss doesn’t like me, I’m not good-looking enough, my partner isn’t supportive, society is messed up, what-have-you. The world is against me. God is against me. And when we nurse these resentments, we can be pushed to retaliate. Of course, most of us won’t murder someone like Cain did. But Jesus said that anyone who is angry at his brother is as liable to judgment as a murderer. (Matthew 5:21-22) So as the writer of 1 John points out, we need to love one another—active, service-giving, sacrificial love—instead of resenting one another. That doesn’t mean we put up with unacceptable behavior (sometimes the most loving thing we can do is to and an unhealthy relationship, business or personal). But it does mean we stop blaming others for our unhappiness and ask God to help us take action to change ourselves.
When and how do I let resentment toward others affect my sense of well-being?
