Your Choices

READ: Genesis 4:5     CHALLENGE: Make Good Choices   Last week we talked about getting past mediocrity. We need to make sure that we are living for God and investing into that relationship. Cain is angry and downcast because God did not approve of him or his offering. God warns him that sin has desires for him and that he needs to get it under control.     (trans.) Perhaps you’re struggling with anger or feeling things are unfair. Maybe your thoughts get a bit gloomy. Let’s talk about it.     A. REVIEW YOUR THINKING     Vv5-6 - but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?     God did not accept just anything that Cain brought to the table as he met with disapproval. Thus, God didn’t give him the favor that he thought he deserved and he’s ticked. It’s a vicious cycle. You don’t do what you’re supposed to. You get called out for it. Now you’re angrier and your behavior gets worse. He’s angry right now. Anger is common but sometimes we’re not thinking straight. As your thinking goes, so goes your attitude and your actions!     (trans.) What can we learn from Cain?     1. Calm Yourself Down     Cain’s offering was not viewed with favor, so Cain was VERY angry! He’s not a little bit upset, he’s super ticked! It’s impossible to know how they knew God approved of the one and not the other, but there was no doubt. Cain is super peeved, and his face is downcast.     · Don’t Fuel Your Anger     He’s angry and this is a word, “angry”, means to “burn” or to “be kindled”. Is this different from outbursts? Outbursts are when you instantly explode and then you’re fine! Everyone else is a smoldering briquette but you feel so much better! “What’s for dinner”?     This is not explosive anger, this is kindled anger. A fire built a piece at a time – a thought at a time. I imagine at some point in your life you’ve built a real fire. I start off with small pieces of broken twigs and sticks and some pieces of bark and I start my fire there. Then I add slightly larger pieces until I have a nice hot fire burning. Soon there is a bed of hot pulsating radiating coals!     That’s a good word picture for this anger. We can start out with little sticks of upset ,whether real or perceived, and then we add one stick upon another until we get that fire burning nice and hot! Kindled gives me the idea building it a piece at a time.     Ever kindle anger one thought at a time? “I can’t believe they did that”. “They said this”. “They didn’t do that”. “They don’t care”. “They never listen”. “They wanted to hurt me”. Or they somehow break your trust. The only thing I asked was for them to get a Snickers bar while they were out and they couldn’t even remember! “I’d remember because I do everything…. I literally do EVERY THING! I’m tired of doing everything!! No one helps me! They’re all sitting there in the living room laughing together while I’m slaving away”. I can hear that fire crackling right now.     I’ve asked them so many times to please refrain from …. Fill in the blank! Or, I’ve asked them for months to fix that dripping faucet. Their mother calls and they’re gone! For me it’s six months of waiting. For their mother it’s six seconds! Your thoughts are up in smoke! They never or they always – let’s light this fire! And all this chatter in our brain is dry and splintered sticks just perfect for igniting.     We pile up all of these little hurts and we build the blaze and if you’re not careful, the fire is not so little any longer - it’s a full blown blaze. I can just smell the smoke. Jesus warned against it in the sermon on the mount! He equated our anger and name calling with murder.     I can tell you one thing that does not help and that’s fueling the fire. Stop looking at their facebook page. Stop wondering about what they’re doing. Stop thinking about how unfair what they did was. Why fuel it? What good will it do? Entrust yourself to God because vengeance belongs to him.     One thing I know about fires is this, they cannot burn without fuel. If you’re not adding to it and continuing on with the gossip, it has nothing to burn on. But when you keep talking about it and bringing it up over and over again, keep ruminating on it, you’re keeping it going! It’s unhealthy.     And let’s remember – it’s Cain who’s on fire, not Abel. Cain is the one burning up inside and there is no good that will come of it.     James 1:19-20 - My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.     Abel was doing what Abel was supposed to do. There’s not even a forgiveness issue here. The biggest thing wrong is Cain’s thoughts. It’s how he’s viewing his life and allowing himself to take offense.     · Don’t Allow Your Thinking to Sour     His face is downcast. The anger is impacting h