Cain and me

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6 Then the lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it."    Genesis 4:2-6

Lord of all perfection of design, wild art and heart-stopping beauty, some offerings You accept and look on with favor, and some You don't.  If we were to get angry at the lack of delight and support from You upon our offering, maybe there is something mucking it up, either in the offering itself, or in the spirit in which it’s given, thus tainting the gift.


Maybe it’s something lurking in our lives, our attitude, our relationships.  Maybe it’s greed, or selfishness. Maybe it’s a spirit of self-elevation, pride in our stratospheric position, scrapping competition for your favor, ego gone wild.

Sin is crouching at our door, like a wildcat, says the Lord.


Licking its chops,
sharpening its eye,
instinctively knowing our abilities and our vulnerabilities,
wanting to have us,
and eat us alive.

Like Obiwan Kenobi, or Mr. Miagi, You spoke to Cain:

It desires to have you, young Jedi,

but you must master it.

Cain had enough anger and jealousy in him to kill. Much like Joseph’s brothers years later.  Enough envy to murder.  God, You saw that and favored the other, the one who was pure.  You did not support envy. 

So the question hangs out there for artists, or leaders or influencers:


Is inflammable ego, or smoldering envy, crouching at the door of our inner house, of our bodies, our spirits?

Somehow we need to learn to show up in our world stripped of the toxins, as servants only.


Open handed inner poverty.


The goal is to be able to say in truth:


Nothing in my hand I bring except a desire to help and to serve.  If I be exalted, God keep my soul pure of pride.  If I be abased, I serve at the pleasure of my Lord, whether in the highest elevation or the lowest abyss.

God, giver of my joy, enabler of the work of my hands, is there anything within me that might taint my gift, my sacrifice to You?  What might make it unacceptable and not at all delightful to You--You whom I so want to please?