The Deadly Danger of Jealousy

Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him (Genesis 4:8).

Do you have any siblings? How do you get along with them? I hope you get along well (as my sister and I do), but the sad truth is many siblings have bad relationships with each other. And unfortunately, the first pair of siblings on earth also had a very bad end to their relationship!

Cain and Abel, both boys, were the first two children born to Adam and Eve. As they grew, Cain became a farmer while Adam was a shepherd. When it came time to give an offering to God, Abel offered a sheep while Cain offered some of his vegetables. The Bible tells us that God accepted Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s. Cain became filled with jealousy towards Abel and killed him in his anger. God judged Cain and made him a wanderer throughout the earth. It was a very sad end, but there are many lessons we can learn from their story.

First, why did God accept Abel’s offering while rejecting Cain’s? The answer is that Cain offered God the vegetables he had grown; in other words, he was trying to justify himself through his own efforts. However, God does not forgive us based on the good things we do; forgiveness comes through faith in Christ. Thus Abel’s offering of a lamb signified the need that the Lamb of God would one day have to die in order for man to be forgiven. Cain should have obtained a sheep from Abel in order to sacrifice. We need to keep in mind that our own efforts can never cause us to find favor in the eyes of God. The only currency in God’s Kingdom is faith in Christ, the one who has paid the price for all of our sins. And it’s only through focus on Him that we grow and be made more into God’s image. So if you are desperate for a change in your life, don’t look to yourself, but focus on the sacrifice of Christ.

Next, we see in this story the grave danger of jealousy. Cain murdering Abel was the first murder in the history of mankind, and what was at its root? Jealousy. Cain couldn’t stand the fact that God had accepted Abel’s offering and rejected his. His jealousy consumed him and ate away at him until he was willing to kill his very own brother. Jealousy destroys lives. Think of King Saul, who spent his last ten years as king in a desperate attempt to kill David due to his jealousy of him. If we are ever going to go on towards maturity in our spiritual lives, we must cry out to God to remove all jealousy from our hearts.

When God confronted Cain with his sin, Cain asked “Am I my brother’s keeper?” In other words, he didn’t want to care for Abel. However, as believers, we are our brother and sister’s keeper! We are responsible for their well-being and should rejoice when they rejoice. Cain should have congratulated Abel on his acceptable offering and learned from him; instead, he hardened his heart in jealousy and didn’t repent before God. Cain’s entire life was ruined by his hatred and jealousy of Abel, and even his children suffered as a result; his entire line grew apart from God. Fill your mind and heart with blessings towards others and let all the jealousy be removed from your heart.