Cain’s parents, Adam and Eve, were created in what many would call the most beautiful place on Earth, the Garden of Eden. While living in this garden, his parents were given a choice. Unfortunately, when the time came to decide, they chose incorrectly. They put their will above the will of the Father. With this decision came severe repercussions: Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden (no more paradise!), shame and guilt had found a home, and gone were the days of innocence. Even in the midst of these consequences, though, God gave us the first insight into His Son that would come later by providing an animal skin covering for Adam and Eve.

Now, instead of food being readily available, Adam had to till the ground. This ground was cursed, filled with thorns and thistles. Life was tough. It was in this environment that Cain was born. I’d like to think that his parents talked to him about the Garden, about the wrong decision they made and the consequences that ensued, and how God sought them out afterwards and covered their nakedness. Later, the Bible tells us that Adam and Eve had another son, Abel. As Cain and Abel grew and began their occupations, Cain cultivated the land and Abel became a shepherd. The Bible doesn’t tell us if one profession was better than the other, but what it does tell us is that Cain and Abel brought gifts to God. Cain presented some of his crops from his harvest and Abel brought portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Word tells us that God accepted Abel’s gift, but He rejected Cain’s gift. God’s action is left up to the reader to decipher. I’ve heard some say that God rejected Cain’s gift because the ground was cursed, therefore the crops he gave were cursed as well. I’ve also heard others say that Cain presented his gift with pride, not in the same humble manner in which Abel offered his gift.

What we can see clearly in scripture is that Cain was livid. God comes to Cain and lets him know that He sees his anger. God sees the problem and offers Cain a solution. So, Cain is presented with a choice, just like his parents were. Would Cain heed the counsel of God? Would he reflect on the things his parents had shared with him? Which would speak louder: his flesh or the emotion of the moment? Would he submit his anger and seek a higher way – a better way – to respond to the sin crouching at the door of his heart, waiting to control him? Cain chose incorrectly by murdering his brother. He chose hatred and violence, and through this, hatred and violence were introduced into the Earth. Violence had become a new way to resolve conflicts.

When did Cain no longer see his brother before him? What was severed in his heart to make murder seem like a viable solution? Fast forward several thousand years, and these questions still remain. Cain and Abel, the story of brother killing brother, has been recorded on countless historical timelines and logged in college textbooks year after year. Has a day gone by since the time of Cain and Abel without some form of violence on Earth? What is it that so blinds the human heart into justifying causing harm towards one another? Some would argue that it’s the lack of God or religion that makes society so prone to anger and violence. I might agree with that assumption, if it were not for the Crusades and countless other holy wars that were started in the name of God. Some say that they would never harm another living soul, they could never kill someone. I would argue that you don’t have to have a gun or a knife to kill someone; the lethal words spewing out of one’s mouth can be just as destructive.

When we devalue one another and create categories of less-than and greater-than, we begin to see each other as enemies. We loathe those that are different from us. But isn’t that how so many conflicts in the world have begun? Hitler against the Jewish people, the Hutus against the Tutsis, Catholics against Protestants. Millions of lives gone, entire groups of people executed, and cultures erased all because of the idea that some people are disposable. This same idea says that one life means more than another, and that one person can be judge, juror, and executioner.

These ideas are completely contrary to the ideas of Jesus Christ. Most people who claim their self-righteous deeds do so in His name, completely neglecting His teachings. History has been written, in many cases, by the winning side. Accounts of things like the Crusades, the transatlantic slave trade, Christopher Columbus’ voyages, and indigenous peoples’ history are often told from one side, written to justify the actions of the oppressors. Here, God’s name is used in vain. His creation is destroyed, lives are forever changed, and mankind believes he will be justified by his Creator for doing His so-called will. Humanity, like Cain, has made the wrong decision time and time again.

We can never deviate from this: God is love. For each and every one of us, a decision must be made. How do we introduce ourselves to the world? Are we peacemakers or warhorse riders? Do we support and promote His love or do we justify our hatred and continue to perpetuate the cycle of violence? Do we learn to forgive or allow pettiness to have its way? Will we look for peaceable ways to resolve conflict or enlarge our arsenals with bigger and better weapons? Will we be like Cain or will we be like Abel? Which choices will you make for yourself?