Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the Lord’s help, I have produced a man!” Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected. [Genesis 4.1-5]
Cain gave an offering to the LORD. It was probably a nice offering. I am sure Cain felt justified in giving something to God. Besides, it was the thing to do and there really was no alternative.
Abel, on the other hand, appears to have had a little different attitude. The text indicates that Abel, unlike Cain, was noted to have given "the best portions" of his bounty.
The difference between the two men was their devotion to God. One, Cain, saw his relationship to God as an obligation and the other, Abel, saw the relationship as a privilege. It is that simple.
How we give back to God matters. As we see with Cain, a nonchalant attitude toward the LORD Who Provides is not only unbecoming, but seems to make us vulnerable to further sin (in Cain's case, murder). It starts with failing to recognize that God is our everything and is evidenced clearly in what we give back to Him. All one has to do to self-diagnose this fallen condition is review his attitude toward giving to God - is giving done as an obligation or privilege?
Suddenly, giving becomes critical! But if we see giving alone as the key, we have still missed the point! It is not the giving that counts, but how we give that counts!
Father, You have given so much to me and yet I still struggle to be grateful. Please forgive my selfish existence and help me to recognize inside and then reflect outside just how good You are to me.
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