S162P4 – Wicked tactics: a cause for hatred
1 Jn. 3:10-15
In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
Much of the sinful behavior we see people exhibit without a second thought comes from a sense of entitlement. The example of Cain and Abel shows entitlement breeding hatred. You have two people who were performing the same act of worship before God, but their outcomes were different. One sacrificed righteously with the proper attitude. The other offered what was worthless to him likely out of selfishness and egotism. When Cain’s sacrifice was rejected, he took out his anger on Abel. Cain felt entitled to have his sacrifice accepted as well although it was unworthy. He was convinced that he had cause for hating his brother because of this and acted out by murdering him.
It takes only the smallest amount of wisdom to see why Cain’s hatred was not justified in any way. Of course, the wise know that hatred toward a person is never justified, but that is how the enemy works. He cleverly tempts us to be convinced that we have a right to that which is not ours at all. This might be an object we wish to possess or respect we think we deserve from another. Entitlement can run the gamut of tangible and intangible things. When we do not get what we want and think we have a right to have, someone will bear the brunt of that resentment and anger. That is when the enemy tries to convince us that the object of our wrath deserves it.
Just because someone speaks badly of me, it does not mean that I have the right to speak badly of them. Just because someone disrespects me, it does not mean that I have the right to curse them. Losing out on a promotion that I think I earned does not give me the right to hate my boss or the colleague who now has the job that I think should be mine. Falling to this kind of temptation can lead to hatred as an emotion under the surface or the manifestation of hatred as an evil act. Humility, selflessness and contentment can help us prevail over this kind of temptation. Father, teach us what we must learn to live as those who can find no cause of hatred against another.