Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD." And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 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, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 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 for you, but you must rule over it." (Genesis 4:1-7, ESV)
The Who played at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville last December. The tickets were a ripoff, but I went anyway, because I had never seen them live before. The only downside to seeing a band from the 70s is the disproportionate number of drunks in the audience. Sure enough, our seats were next to four drunk guys who were standing up, teetering and bumping into us and generally being obnoxious the whole time. Everyone around us was complaining about them. Finally, I told the one next to me "Can I make a suggestion? Everyone around us could enjoy the show a lot better if we all sat down". His response: "I don't give a @#$% about them or you, that guy on stage wants me to stand up and rock out". Twenty years ago (before I became a Christian), I would have been two inches from his face giving him an earful of inappropriate words in response. This time, I calmly replied "it's just a suggestion". His behavior didn't change; if anything it got worse. After a bit, though, he calmed down, apologized, and actually sat down (for a while). I knew that yelling at him wouldn't work, but I was still a bit surprised that my words actually sunk in. After all, trying to reason with a drunk is usually an exercise in futility (my buddies from high school/college can testify to that because they used to go drinking with me).
So how do the events at the Who concert relate to Cain & Abel? There are points in life where you will find yourself at a crossroads. It may be something as simple as dealing with a drunk at a concert, or something as serious as staring into the abyss of your own anger like Cain. In all cases, how you react is your choice: appropriate or inappropriate, right or wrong, good or evil. No one puts a gun to your head and forces you one way or the other. In all cases, God's warning to Cain applies. "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 for you, but you must rule over it." Cain didn't heed God's warning and two lives were destroyed: Abel was dead and Cain was cursed by God for his actions. If you keep making bad choices and you think you can't change, you're wrong. True change comes through God and starts with your choice to follow his word (the Bible) instead of your own selfish desires.
