RE: Cain and Abel: Explanation Please. Pretty Pretty Please!
September 4, 2014 at 1:12 am
(This post was last modified: September 4, 2014 at 1:24 am by Michael.)
Jenny. Abel chose the best of his crops to offer back to God. Cain did not choose the best of his herd. Abel, but not Cain, found favour because he reserved the best for God. It's a wisdom tale about bringing the best of what God graces us with back to God, putting God first in our lives (out of recognition that without God we would have, and be, nothing). We then have a tale about the destructive force of envy, consuming Cain to the point of murder. Envy is, in many respects, the opposite of love; we find angst, and not happiness, in the good fortune of others. When envious, we no longer seek the best for others; rather we may seek to deprive others of that which we cannot have ourselves. It drags down people and society (even to the point of murder), rather than love which lifts up everyone (the lover and the loved).
