The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry?” Genesis 4:6
Cain never answered the question about his anger because if he did, he would have realized that he was not justified, which is what he wanted to avoid. Like Cain, we feel self-righteous when angry, and pride pushes us to step on the gas and not look back. After we indulge our anger, we see the damage, followed by shame and regret. In Cain’s case, he murdered his brother. Maybe you didn’t murder the person who offended you, but you murdered some relationships, you sabotaged a family gathering, or you divided and destroyed a fellowship.
1 John 3:15 says,
“Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.”
Hatred equals murder. So, if you are angry, you need to ask: “Why am I angry? Why has my countenance fallen?”
You may say, “I have a right to be angry! My husband cheats on me,” “My wife humiliates me,” or “My Dad left me!” There is an appropriate space for righteous anger, but it must be dealt with before it becomes murder. The Apostle Paul put it this way,
“BE ANGRY, AND YET DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.” Ephesians 4:26-27
When God approached Cain, He gave Cain the opportunity to deal with his anger without sinning. In Cain’s case, his anger was with himself for not bringing a worthy offering of worship to the Lord. Cain could have dealt with his anger by humbly accepting the Lord’s mercy. But instead, Cain refused to doubt his “righteous” indignation, which turned him into a murderer, which is what the Lord warned, saying: “Its desire is for you.” Cain gave the devil an opportunity, and the spirit of murder used it to do what he does best: kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10).
Did Cain get relief from his anger through murder? Certainly not. Instead, Cain's anger toward himself increased, and the spirit of murder opened the door to shame, guilt, regret, and isolation. God’s warning that sin desired to consume Cain proved true.
But even after murder, there is hope for relief which would require us to answer the question Cain ignored: “Why are you angry?” If Cain were honest, he would say, “I am angry with myself because I am a murderer, and I am a murderer because I am a failure and a rejected person.” To this, God’s response would be to ask another question He asked Cain’s parents, “Who told you that you were naked (a failure)?” (Genesis 3:11). The knowledge of good and evil told Cain, as it told Adam and Eve, this information. And this story of the first murder in Genesis 4 sets the stage for God’s merciful solution in Genesis 12-15 when God makes a covenant with Abraham to bless everything cursed through Adam.
At the climax of the ages, all failure, death, sickness, murder, hatred, curses, shame, regret, humiliation, rejection, despair, hopelessness, and everything else evil was heaped on the back of one naked, violated, suffocating Jew, baking in the sun, and nailed to a Roman cross on a little hill called “Golgotha.” The only place to put anger, hatred, rage, or regret is to heap it on Jesus, who already paid for it on the cross.
Put your failure on Jesus.
Put your anger on Jesus.
Put your curses on Jesus.
Put your rejection on Jesus.
Put your murder on Jesus.
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Isaiah 53:3 NKJV.
Don't waste Jesus’ blood by trying to fix your rejection issues in your own murderous way. And don't waste Jesus’ blood attempting to make up for your murder. He already paid the entire debt for our failures. Stop using your overspent credit card to pay a debt Jesus already paid. Leave your anger and your regret on the cross.
Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? You are loved, forgiven, and accepted. Change your thinking and believe the Gospel!?
The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry?” Genesis 4:6
Cain never answered the question about his anger because if he did, he would have realized that he was not justified, which is what he wanted to avoid. Like Cain, we feel self-righteous when angry, and pride pushes us to step on the gas and not look back. After we indulge our anger, we see the damage, followed by shame and regret. In Cain’s case, he murdered his brother. Maybe you didn’t murder the person who offended you, but you murdered some relationships, you sabotaged a family gathering, or you divided and destroyed a fellowship.
1 John 3:15 says,
“Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.”
Hatred equals murder. So, if you are angry, you need to ask: “Why am I angry? Why has my countenance fallen?”
You may say, “I have a right to be angry! My husband cheats on me,” “My wife humiliates me,” or “My Dad left me!” There is an appropriate space for righteous anger, but it must be dealt with before it becomes murder. The Apostle Paul put it this way,
“BE ANGRY, AND YET DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.” Ephesians 4:26-27
When God approached Cain, He gave Cain the opportunity to deal with his anger without sinning. In Cain’s case, his anger was with himself for not bringing a worthy offering of worship to the Lord. Cain could have dealt with his anger by humbly accepting the Lord’s mercy. But instead, Cain refused to doubt his “righteous” indignation, which turned him into a murderer, which is what the Lord warned, saying: “Its desire is for you.” Cain gave the devil an opportunity, and the spirit of murder used it to do what he does best: kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10).
Did Cain get relief from his anger through murder? Certainly not. Instead, Cain's anger toward himself increased, and the spirit of murder opened the door to shame, guilt, regret, and isolation. God’s warning that sin desired to consume Cain proved true.
But even after murder, there is hope for relief which would require us to answer the question Cain ignored: “Why are you angry?” If Cain were honest, he would say, “I am angry with myself because I am a murderer, and I am a murderer because I am a failure and a rejected person.” To this, God’s response would be to ask another question He asked Cain’s parents, “Who told you that you were naked (a failure)?” (Genesis 3:11). The knowledge of good and evil told Cain, as it told Adam and Eve, this information. And this story of the first murder in Genesis 4 sets the stage for God’s merciful solution in Genesis 12-15 when God makes a covenant with Abraham to bless everything cursed through Adam.
At the climax of the ages, all failure, death, sickness, murder, hatred, curses, shame, regret, humiliation, rejection, despair, hopelessness, and everything else evil was heaped on the back of one naked, violated, suffocating Jew, baking in the sun, and nailed to a Roman cross on a little hill called “Golgotha.” The only place to put anger, hatred, rage, or regret is to heap it on Jesus, who already paid for it on the cross.
Put your failure on Jesus.
Put your anger on Jesus.
Put your curses on Jesus.
Put your rejection on Jesus.
Put your murder on Jesus.
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Isaiah 53:3 NKJV.
Don't waste Jesus’ blood by trying to fix your rejection issues in your own murderous way. And don't waste Jesus’ blood attempting to make up for your murder. He already paid the entire debt for our failures. Stop using your overspent credit card to pay a debt Jesus already paid. Leave your anger and your regret on the cross.
Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? You are loved, forgiven, and accepted. Change your thinking and believe the Gospel!