Men in the Bible: Cain – The Profile of A Fratricide (1)
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
We are continuing our spotlight on Cain, the first murderer and fratricide in the Bible, by exploring the inner constitution of his mind, which led him to commit a murder, something that no one before him had done before.
He was an angry man
By allowing negative emotions to fester in his mind and not nipping them when they started, Cain inadvertently allowed his disappointment to boil into anger. By also not exercising control over his anger, it continued to surge to the point of consuming violence that could only be gratified by hurting someone.
It is noteworthy that God warned him about the consequences of allowing his negative emotion to fester.
God spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.” – Genesis 4:6-7 (The Message)
This shows that God clearly warned Cain about the implications of not putting a grip on his emotions. But he did not heed the warning, either because he did not understand what God was saying, or he was past caring. He allowed the anger to get the better of him until it pushed him to kill his brother.
He was a sad man
Another attribute Cain can be described with was sadness. He was a sad man. He did not handle the rejection he suffered well. He became jealous of his brother whose offering was accepted, and jealousy does not elicit a positive response, it usually leads to sadness and wrong behaviors. That was what we eventually saw from Cain, who made an undesirable name for himself by being the first person to be documented for murder and fratricide.
It all started with a lack of emotional intelligence, exemplified in a lack of self-awareness as to know what was good for God, and this leading to feelings of disappointment, anger and sadness, which, when still left unchecked, drove him to murder.
Selah!
Also read:
- Men in the Bible: The Profile of A Fratricide (1)
- The Benefits of Wisdom: Obedience
- The Hug
- Dream after an Extremely Difficult time in my life
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