Tantrum Time!

Genesis 4:6 the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up?

What a perfect question for our world today. And yet, if you followed with the reason you are asking (like God did), you would be pummeled with all kinds of HOW DARE YOU! and QUIT JUDGING ME! Pummeled! For simply asking an obvious “Why?” based upon facial facts.

Unfortunately for Abel (Cain’s brother), Cain realized he shouldn’t, couldn’t, wouldn’t  pummel God, so he chose the next best thing. Go and spread the word that “God is not good because He made me feel bad! I offer Him fruit of the ground and He gives me NO REGARD (Genesis 4:5)!”

Evidently Abel wouldn’t play, how could he, he had the opposite experience with the same God. As far as Abel knew, God was well pleased with the FIRSTLINGS of his flock and of their FAT PORTIONS, which was wonderful because that’s EXACTLY what Abel desired when he specifically set them apart and raised them especially for his offering to God. Admittedly, fruit is harder to guarantee its freshness and quality, however pleasing God has to first (and last) come from the intent of the heart. “If you do well…

One can only imagine Abel’s answer when his brother told him what God just had the nerve to say to him. Whatever it was, verse 8 tells us that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

With anyone but God, Cain might have been able to get away with murder, but God called him out. Where is Abel your brother?

First murder, then the lie, then the excuse. Cain’s way lives on in our world today… “I do not know. (Well, maybe I do know) Am I my brother’s keeper? (Keeper? I did find a way to keep his mouth shut!) Been caught, been called out, but will NEVER EVER CONFESS!

Genesis 4:10-12 “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you;

Cursed by your own hand… but still it is God’s fault “My punishment is too great to bear! Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground;

Cain’s way lives on!

James 4:1-3 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Cain wanted to offer God the least – the easiest to give of his labor. God didn’t praise him for his lack of sacrifice. (Please note also, that God didn’t berate Cain publicly nor compare him to the “good” brother… God simply didn’t give him a participation trophy while honoring Abel for the love he had shown to Him.)

We DEMAND our Participation Trophy or else!!!!

Or else? God does not get or deserve our attention, much less our devotion or obedience! To those Abel’s out there… We will kill you because of your love for God and bury your altars that declare His love for this world!… sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you (Genesis 4:7) !!TRIGGER!!

Tantrum Time… I have NOT KILLED ANYONE! I AM A GOOD PERSON!!

But have you ever been angry with someone? Or called someone a “good-for nothing”? Or called someone, “FOOL!”?

Jesus says any of these are the same as murder – the court of perfect justice would call you guilty and punishment would be the same. (Matthew 5:22)

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Trigger yet another tantrum… “I AM a good person and if God doesn’t KNOW that, He’s no God of mine! In fact!… I don’t like you either because you just hurt my feelings! If I wasn’t such a good person I would kill you!”

We live in a world today that is having one gigantic tantrum. If it wasn’t so serious (and full of hate), I would giggle at the foot stomping going on today and laugh at the rhetoric that sounds like children on the playground trying to bully other children into playing THE RIGHT game – THEIR GAME.

But I can’t laugh while shedding tears for the devastation and destruction being wrought in the name of “good”. It’s a bloody war instigated and encouraged by none other than EVIL. It’s a war that will not end until EVIL is put down and RIGHTEOUSNESS reigns.

It is a war that is impossible for mankind to win. Evil whispered in our ear that we deserved to BE God because we looked just like Him. We believed him and killed the very thing that destroys Evil, our LOVE for God. We murdered the truth and buried it with our innocence toward “knowing” (intimacy with) Evil.

“What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood the blood of My love is crying to Me from the ground. Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood the blood of My love from your hand. When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you;

Mankind is naked, unable to win the battle and sent away from the kingdom of perfect love. Just as Cain learned, “the punishment is too great to bear! Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from Your face I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth… whoever finds me will kill me!” (Genesis 4:15)We are dead meat without God and His kingdom of love.

Tantrum Time doesn’t change the truth… that’s the bad news (for those who think it should)!

Our world is throwing a gigantic tantrum, and some are having too good of time doing it they refuse to stop. But the good news is… Tantrum Time does not change God.

John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 

Evil defeated us (for a time) but Evil NEVER DEFEATS love! What is impossible for man, is possible with God and His love for us.

I have a feeling… maybe it’s a prophecy…

This gigantic tantrum our world is mounting in their anger against God, will be the trigger that ushers in the GREATEST REVIVAL this world has ever seen… the revival of HEARTS GIVEN TO GOD WITH LOVE… and God will be well pleasedwith the offering!

Unlike me who sent my kids to their room (out of sight and hearing) when it was Tantrum Time, God comes nearer and whispers, “Come”… “Come to Me”… “I will give you rest!” … “You will have peace with Me!”

If we can “Be Still” for just a moment, quiet our tantrums so we might hear Him, “we will know the truth, and the truth will make us free.” (John 8:32)Rather than throwing our tantrum, we would be lifting our arms in confession and surrender and be gathered in His arms of love.

If not… the vagrant and a wanderer continues searching for their place of peace and rest… You’ll know them by the sound and fury of their tantrums, because for them it will always be… Tantrum Time!

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.