Scripture

Then Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch; and he {Cain} built a city and called the name of the city Enoch, after the name of his son.

~Genesis 4:17, LSB

Quote

Envy moves evil men to hate those who are good, for no other reason than that they are good.

~Augustine {City of God, p.329}

Cain and Abel represent the federal heads of humanity. Cain is the father of self-will and Abel is the father of obedient faith. Although Cain brought an offering {religion}, it was the fruit of his own labor. An offering was pleasing to Cain; he saw no need for a sacrifice. Abel understood his need for blood atonement. Cain’s attitude was the opposite: “I will give God what I choose to give Him, and He will accept it or else.” Well it turned out to be ‘else’. In his rebellion, Cain build a city so that makes him the father of the city of man. The difference between these brothers is striking: Cain depended on works, Abel faith. Abel pleased God; Cain did not. Abel came before God broken and God blessed him. Cain came before God unbroken and God cursed him. Abel was humble and had no ambition to rule his brother yet Cain was envious of Abel and hated him for no cause. The legend of Ancient Rome is that it was the idea of two brothers, Remus and Romulus but Romulus did not want to be a co-regent; he did not wish to share the throne, not even with his brother so he killed Remus. Augustine says that “goodness is a possession that no one can keep unless they are willing to share it.” The selfish ambition of Romulus and Cain destroyed any chance that had at being good.

There is a huge difference between the CITY OF GOD {Kingdom of God/New Jerusalem} and the CITY OF MAN. In the city of man there is strife, contention, vain-ambition, envy as men fight to rule or lord over others. This is why POLITICS is dirty business. It is cut throat or dog eat dog. Good honest men have a hard time getting anything done in Washington or Montgomery.  Why is it so important for men to have power over other men? I may not have the answer to that question but I can tell you, it goes back to Cain. It is so drastically different in the CITY OF GOD where the law is… Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. What do you prefer; having someone tell you what to do or having someone to help you and stand along side you. So how did the spirit of Cain get in the Baptist church? I don’t know but it wormed its way in somewhere. How did it get in families? I don’t know but it has destroyed a lot of families including the very first. Come to think of it, the disciples were snake bitten, they were arguing about who was greatest, who would boss who, when Jesus got up, girded Himself with a towel and washed their stinking feet. Jesus sat the example; Instead of looking for a way to rule; we look for a way to serve.

Extra

We got home from Hotlanta about 2:00 am so I am running a little late. I got stuck by Spencer Bell and on the way home, he started crying on my shoulder. Do I look like a counselor, really! He is in love with Granny Turrentine. She must have said something nice to him and he flipped. He was telling me that he wans to marry Granny. I said, “Spencer, I see a couple of problems. Beside the age difference, If you marry Granny, Eddie and Teddy become your step sons. I can’t see Eddie calling you dad.” He said, “I don’t care what Eddie thinks, that family has money and I want some of it.” I told him, “You better let me run this through Eddie,” {8 rows up on the bus} so I hollowed, “Eddie, Spencer says he’s marrying Granny and you are going to be his step-son.” The answer I got was “No way…it aint happening.” So poor Spencer is going to have to deal with more rejection. Then I got to visualizing the family portrait with Spencer as step-dad and I got so tickled that I couldn’t talk. Everyone was laughing except Eddie and Spencer. Eddie wasn’t laughing due to righteous indignation, and Spencer was just hurt over Eddie’s rejection of him as his step dad. I do appreciate Eddie getting us the bus and Joe David leading trip but you can stick a fork in me, I am done. Too far, too hot, too many people in one place, too much traffic and I am too old. I enjoyed it guys but I will be a prayer partner on the next trip.

One other thing: Spencer has another dilemma: if and when Eddie gives his consent, who will perform the ceremony; Teddie or myself.

Have a great day.