Doing Right Amongst Wrong

Introduction

This is the first in an eight-part series about doing hard things.

Doing hard things involves doing something that you may really not want to do but you do it anyway.

This may include forgiveness, trust, change, giving more money to something because you believe in it, giving time, talent, or many other parts of you.

Hard things are hard for a reason: They Are Worth it.

Just like working out.

I know many in here hate the thought of doing this.

Working out is hard. It makes you hurt and wears you out.

But it is worth it because you become more healthy. You are taking care of the body the Lord gave you.

I know many hold to the idea that because we will receive a glorified body in the resurrection then why take care of this one?

Well, the world will be completely revamped either in a complete overhaul or new creation all together.

But we want to tend and keep this earth now.

We get mad when someone dumps trash on dirt roads but not when we dump trash down our own throats.

We get mad when someone lets a place run down but not when we let our bodies run down.

The earth was not created in the image of God but we are.

Don’t you think that maybe we should do more hard things so we can be the best form of that image we can be?

That is what this new series will discuss and apply to us all.

We will examine 8 OT people and the hard things they did.

Today we will examine Abel and Cain.

Abel did the hard thing and did what was right, Cain did the easy thing which was wrong.

In this story from Gen. 4:1-15 we may say wait, Abel did not do anything hard he just brought a sacrifice from the firstborn and their fat portions.

That is the hard thing. He could have grabbed anything but he gave the best to the Lord whereas, Cain did not.

Look back into chapter three. Eve and Adam took the easy path and ate the fruit. Cain followed suit.

This man that Eve received from the Lord is not the seed that is to crush the serpents head, but rather the one who crushed his own bloods head.

Cain took the easy path that leads to nothing but destruction.

So the question I want each of us to think on through this sermon and this whole series is, “What thing am I doing where I am taking the easy way because the right way is too hard?”

As we think on that question let us read Gen. 4:1-15

Genesis 4:1–15 ESV

1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” 8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” 13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.

Many things jump out from this text as to what happens when we do the right thing, the hard thing.

Doing Right Brings Scoffers

Cain was mad. He saw that Abel had praise from the Lord and he did not.

Abel did the right thing. He did the hard thing. Cain failed to do the right thing the hard thing. He took the easy path and it made him jealous.

He scoffed at Abel.

He mocked Abel.

This means that when we do the hard thing, the right thing, people will laugh, mock, ridicule, try to draw you away from the right path, or worse.

We must stay focused on the Lord.

Stay looking at Him.

Keep doing right and giving it your all for the Lord.

Abel brought the firstborn and the fat portions of his flock.

What this means is, “The quality of the offering is emphasized because the fat portions were considered the best meat and the firstborn animals were the most prized. Abel carefully chooses his offering and brings the very best that he possesses to God regardless of expense” (James McKeown, Genesis, The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: 2008), 40).

Cain brought some produce. His is not said to be the best but just some.

He took the easy path. He took the path of least resistance.

His crops were probably just fine and he could have brought the best of them but that would cut into his gain so he gave the easy stuff, the dregs.

Abel gave the best of the best because even though it was hard to give from the top, that was the right thing to do.

Cain was just going through the motions and only giving what he felt was right without regard to the one he was sacrificing too.

Too often we fall into this trap too.

We will give begrudgingly to the church or ministry in some form and keep back more for ourselves.

We will look at what we have and take the easy route rather than do the hard thing and sacrifice for the Lord.

We need to be more like the warrior mindset that Mike Simpson retired SpecOps, SWAT, JSOC, Ranger medic, and medical doctor says about being a warrior. He talks about a person committed to doing the hard things in life. We are soldiers for Christ so we are warriors and Simpson says “a warrior dedicates himself to becoming the best possible version of himself that he can be and does not shirk from the difficult tasks involved in the realization of that goal. A warrior does not make excuses, and he doesn’t quit when things become difficult. That is the mentality of a warrior” (Honed: Finding Your Edge as a Man Over 40, Greybeard Press, 23. Kindle).

We stay focused and do the hard things regardless what that means because by going the easy way, we will fall and falter into going against the Lord.

Which is what we see in this text. We see that...

The Easy Way Brings Frustration and Rebellion

Cain’s face fell and he was very angry.

All this means is that Cain became angry at God because God did not accept his way.

Jude 11 tells of those who have gone the way of Cain and tells us of this rebellion and path of ease. It calls a woe against those who decide to do things their way over God’s way.

When we decide to do the easy thing like steal, which can be in the form of cheating on taxes and not giving to God what God deserves from us, we have taken the easy path.

Giving to God what God deserves from us involves so much more than money.

It involves talent, gifts, time, and effort.

The easy path means we come to church on Sunday alone and never do anymore for the Lord.

The hard way, the right way, is us spending time daily in His word.

Serving in the church.

Giving more to the work of the ministry.

It also includes us praying not just for ourselves but for others and for the ministry.

When we do not do this we are stealing from God because God has blessed us with every day we have and when we do not offer praise to Him for that, we are stealing from Him.

Cain was doing this same thing because he was not offering to God what God deserved but what he thought God deserved.

He was doing things his way and became angry when God did not approve.

This led to frustration and rebellion.

We do the same when we do not get what we think God should give us.

When we do pray for healing and that loved one dies, we become angry.

When we pray for more income and we do not get it or get the job, we become angry.

What we fail to see is maybe what we are doing is not what God desires or has planned for us.

Maybe we need to step back and hang in the grind a little more and wait on Him to show us.

One thing for certain is that when you hang in the grind and do the work and find joy in that, when the blessing comes it is even better because you appreciate it more.

Like when I was in school.

I had several classmates who did not buy their own vehicle, tires, or gas.

They drove like idiots and tore up vehicle after vehicle.

Yeah, they had nice cars, nicer than what I drove, but they did not pay for anything.

I paid for all of mine, vehicle, tires, and gas.

They had no appreciation for what they had because they did not wait or work hard by doing the hard thing.

They had everything and when mom and dad got tired of them tearing it up and took it from them, they were mad because they were not getting their way anymore.

This is Cain here.

God did not approve of him and his offering because he was doing it his way, the easy way.

The easy way is always our way because we think we know what is right and best.

God says different and says wait on me and do the work until I move. Stay focused and stay the course in time it will all work out.

We must trust the process.

Just like in working out, you do not get a sculpted and strong body over night, it takes time and effort.

This is the same with doing the right thing. It takes time and effort not our comfort and pleasure, but God’s pleasure alone.

Because as we further see in this text...

The Easy Path Really Isn’t Easy

Cain failed to overcome the sin that was crouching at his door.

He succumbed to the easy way of getting ahead, of getting what he wanted.

He came upon his brother in the field and killed him.

His easy path led to murder, then lying, and hiding.

He failed miserably because he went the easy way and wanted things his way.

He kills his brother then lies, this is the first recorded human lie in Scripture, then rejects God’s question therefore rejecting God’s authority over him by asking God “am I my brother’s keeper?”

This is what the easy way will do.

It will make you reject the authority of God and make yourself the authority.

You will become your own god and reject the true God.

You will make excuses for what you did.

You will look at yourself and think you are always right and never wrong.

You will become bitter and full of hate, which is what we see in the world today.

They reject the hard thing of resisting their sexual urges.

They fall into sexual sin of all kinds and then turn and strike out at anyone who calls it out.

They lie and steal and cheat without a thought because they have the right they say.

But everyone of those kind are bitter and hateful and broken because they have taken the easy path and received punishment for it just like Cain.

Cain received severe punishment, not as severe as it could have been, but severe nonetheless.

The ground would no longer produce for him.

He felt this was too much.

He said it was “greater than I can bear” in verse 13.

He killed his brother and was told he could no longer work it and he was a fugitive and murderer.

This was too great he could not believe it.

He found out the easy path the easy road the easy way is not really easy.

We find this same thing when we go that easy way.

When we eat the junk food and then find ourselves incapable of doing the work we need to.

Or we cheat on taxes only to get audited and have to pay back thousands.

Or we lie about being somewhere only to be found out and our whole life crashes down on us.

Or we decide to stop church and not attend anymore because we only get Sunday to take a break, then tragedy strikes and we have no one because we have abandoned our family.

Thankfully we have grace just as Cain had when he said it was too much.

God said He would protect him from the world and marked him to ensure his safety in verse 15.

God gives us much grace in life so we will stop following the easy way and look to Him and get back to the grind.

By grind I don’t mean drudgery but I mean staying the course working through the process and doing hard things because doing hard things is rewarding in the end whereas easy things will leave you empty.

Conclusion

Looking back to verse 7, Gen. 4:7 “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.””

Doing the right thing is doing well.

Doing the hard things is ruling over sin instead of letting it rule over you.

Yes, it is easier to not get up and come to church and fellowship but it is not beneficial.

Yes, it is easier to not keep yourself healthy but it is not beneficial.

Yes, you have great freedom in the Lord which is glorious but sometimes using our freedom is not beneficial.

Doing hard things means we follow the Lord through and over that narrow, canyon laced, sheer drop off having road, rather than going down the broad and easy path.

Following the easy path will lead us into a path of hatred for God and His desires and love of self over others.

As this study that Dennis Prager spoke of in a Christianity Today article from 1993,

It is no wonder that in 15 years of asking high school students throughout America whether, in an emergency situation, they would save their dog or a stranger first, most students have answered that they would not save the stranger. "I love my dog, I don't love the stranger," they always say. The feeling of love has supplanted God or religious principle as the moral guide for young people. What is right has been redefined in terms of what an individual feels.

Dennis Prager in Good News, July/Aug, 1993, quoted in Christianity Today, Oct 25, 1993, p. 73.

The easy path leads to a hardened heart whereas the hard way leads to a strong soul and soft heart for the things of the Lord.

Today I ask you as God asked Cain Gen. 4:7 “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Will you do hard things in order to glorify God or will you do easy things to glorify yourself.

Will you let sin drag you down or will you rule over sin by being a warrior and “not make excuses, and [not] quit when things become difficult.”

Will you do hard things for the Lord and wait for His amazing blessings to come?

I pray you will.