The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why do you look so resentful? If you do the right thing, won’t you be accepted? But if you don’t do the right thing, sin will be waiting at the door ready to strike! It will entice you, but you must rule over it.” Genesis 4:6-7
Cain and Abel is one of the most iconic stories of Genesis. It is the first time the word “sin” is introduced in the Bible. Sin is anthropomorphized into a sort of creature waiting to attack. Cain is implored to rule over sin, much like Adam and Eve were commanded to rule over or subdue creation. Instead of maintaining control, Cain allows sin to rule over him. His anger and resentment towards his brother Abel lead to the first murder. Cain is exiled for his sin, but God offers grace still, a mark of protection so that no one will bring harm to him.
John Wesley believed that Christ unleashed prevenient grace to all people. This means that no one is in a natural state of total corruption, but we all have some degree of grace infused into us that allow us to rule over sin. When we cooperate with grace, we live within God’s will, we repent of everything but Jesus and are given even greater grace to overcome sin. However, when we fail to cooperate with grace, we are held fully responsible for our action. This failure becomes our personal sin, and we are held responsible for it. A definition for sin is to “miss the mark,” and humans seem inclined to miss the mark of perfect love for God and neighbor. We need Christ, through his life, death, and resurrection to heal our souls, infuse us with greater grace, and set us free from the rule of sin.
Many readers of the Cain and Abel story notice the seemingly arbitrary way in which God favors Abel’s offering but not Cain’s. The text is intentionally ambiguous, leading us to see this as a sort of test for Cain. To do the right thing for Cain would be to accept his situation and move on. Instead, anger and resentment rule his heart and he kills his innocent brother. I thought it would be funny to portray Cain and Abel as the Highlight’s magazine characters Goofus and Gallant. Reading those little comics growing up, I was always waiting for Goofus to just beat the ever-loving snot out of Gallant. He couldn’t help it. He was just drawn that way.