Spiritual Consequences Of Choices
August 22, 2021 3:58 PM
1King
Received: 8/2021
Biblical characters to consider
Cain and Abel were the first two sons of Adam and Eve (Genesis 4:1-2).
Cain is recorded as the first born son, the eldest of the two. By birth and law, he would receive his father, Adam’s inheritance. Cain was a planter and sower of seeds. He worked the earth for his bounty.
Abel was the second born son of Adam and Eve. He was a shepherd who took care of the flocks of sheep. The short relationship of these brothers is recorded in Genesis 4. We can see from the beginning of their story that they were different in their roles and responsibilities. Let’s think about how they differed with God.
Relationships
Both men knew the creator God. This is evident because they brought portions of their livelihoods as offerings to God (Genesis 4:3-4). Cain brought produce from the earth. Abel brought the firstborn of his sheep, including their fat. We are taught to construe that Cain was not favored by God because of his offering. This seems logical because it is recorded that God rejected Cain’s offering, and this made Cain angry (Genesis 4:5). When reading the Bible, God’s Word, we must look through God’s eyes. That is the only way to see it from God’s perspective. We need to examine the details of this event in scripture the way God would. God looks deep inside at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7), not at the obvious like man.
At the core, this was about what kind of relationship Cain had with others. When we love someone we want to impress them. When they reject us we tend to be hurt. Cain’s countenance fell (Genesis 4:5) when he was rejected. When the Lord God saw Cain’s facial expression change, He questioned him saying, “If you are doing what is good, shouldn’t you hold your head high?” (Genesis 4:6-7). God knew Cain was at a crossroads, where he would decide his next action. God warned Cain what would happen if he made the wrong choice, “And if you don’t do what is good, sin is crouching at the door — it wants you, but you can rule over it.”(Genesis 4:7).
When we are rejected we tend to become defensive, especially by someone we are trying hard to impress. We do this because we fear rejection. Our first response to the rejection is most often anger which is followed by striking out at the person or people we blame. This is a repeat of the blame game which started with Adam and Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:9-13). In this way we are very much like Cain, repeating history and the mistakes of our parents.
Fear
In the garden Adam went straight to the core of sin. It is fear. Eve feared she would not be like God if she didn’t eat the fruit (Genesis 3:5). Unfortunately, she didn’t realize she was already made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Adam feared facing God after he’d been disobedient, so he hid (Genesis 3:9-10). We must always keep in mind that a reverent fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). This fear is not the kind of fear Adam and Eve experienced after their sin. Fear is the hammer that drives a wedge in relationships. When we take actions out of fear our countenance also falls. This allows our choices to be swayed as they were in the garden and also within the first family.
Wisdom makes good choices
Please don’t repeat historical bad choices. God warned Cain and has warned His people all throughout the Bible to make wise choices (Proverbs 1:5, 2:11-12). The source of wisdom is God (James 1:5, Proverbs 2:6, 3:5-6), so we must seek Him first (Matthew 6:33) when making a decision. After this, we must consider the choices before us and understand the consequences of the choice (Proverbs 4:7-9). This is most often where we go wrong. Cain allowed his fear of rejection to provoke anger. This prevented him from hearing God’s warning. His fear and anger were increased which ultimately led him to kill his brother (Genesis 4:8).
Consequences of bad choices
Adam, Eve, and Cain allowed fear to govern their choices which separated them from God (Genesis 3:23-24, 4:14). Cain complained to the Lord, once again out of fear, that his natural life would be taken from him. So the Lord graciously gave him a promise that if anyone took vengeance on him they would receive sevenfold the vengeance. God also marked him so others would easily recognize him and not kill him (Genesis 4:15). After this Cain left his family and the presence of God to live out the rest of his natural life as a fugitive wandering the earth (Genesis 4:16).
The mark was a visible outward sign to all of mankind representing the choice Cain made to be separated from God. In the last days, there will be another outward sign to mankind by those who choose to be separated from God. Like it or not, the mark of the beast is a choice to be eternally separated from God. God clearly states those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their foreheads and on their hands will rule and reign with Christ (Revelation 20:4).
It’s a choice
Cain essentially traded his eternal life inheritance for a long natural life (Matthew 16:26). Regardless of the face it wears or the sound of the voice, fear is the weapon. That weapon is being wielded in the form of media today. After all, the enemy is called the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:1-3). Sound is received over waves transmitted through the air. Television, radio, internet signals are all transmitted through the air. We are currently living in a world that is driven by fear. Everywhere we turn we hear words or see images that provoke fear. Why? The enemy has control of those signals right now because we as children of God have not been diligent enough to pray for God to remove his power (2 Chronicles 7:14). The enemy from the garden is still at work to sway our choices by speaking truth mixed with lies (Genesis 3:1-5, Ecclesiastes 7:25-27). He is working overtime to ensure his success because he knows his time is short (Revelation 2:12). One thing he has broadcast through his media platform and made perfectly clear…fear is not real, it’s a choice. Choices have a spiritual consequence, as this article has explored. Don’t let fear guide you to exchange your eternal life for a long natural life. Don’t take an outward mark showing your choice of eternal separation from God.
You shall not be terrified of them; for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you. (Deuteronomy 7:21)
I pray this article has helped you better discern the devil in the details.
