Reading from Genesis 4: The origin of murder. Cain was furious and downcast because his offering was not accepted. The Bible says that God questioned his emotions. We assume our emotions, flighty as they are not the keys to profound life principles. However, the warning that “sin crouches at the door” brings the anticipation of evil as a consequence of wrong emotions. We are taught not to depend on our emotions, and often discard them as a willow the wisp wingers of evanescent feelings. However, the correlation between these tangible feelings and the state of our heart is too real to ignore. Cain was furious, and downcast. Be angry, the Bible says, but do not sin, and do not let the sun go down on your anger. It is an inescapable fact that all have at some point felt the hot glow of anger. The KJV uses the words glow with anger in this translation. A consequence of unrequited anger is often discouragement and depression. Anger, most often is a wrong emotion, since its seat is in unrequited expectation. Cain had no right to expect God to accept his sacrifice on Cains terms. But that is what he was expecting. Our sacrifices will be acceptable to God on His terms. The rebellion of Cain did not stop at this. It went on to produce anger and depression, even as his plants produced fruits and leaves. When we feel these emotions, a sobering question should by “Why”. If rightly examined, the answer could lead us out of this ravine that leads to disaster. The basis of God’s acceptance on us will always have to be on His terms, not on ours. And as sure as clouds lead to rain, un requited unwarranted emotion exposes the rabid hound of sin, straining at the leash of our door. Its desire will always be to destroy and consume us. Yet, we hold the key to its mastery.
When have we been angry or depressed? For some, these emotions are the fabric of life. It is time to examine these emotions, and ask ourselves that loaded question – Why? Perhaps it will unravel the warped weave of twisted logic that leads invariably to disaster and yield up the key to shutting out the lurking fiends that strain to consume us.
