“Not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother.” 1 John 3:12 NKJV
Cain was “of the evil one” or “the wicked one”. John’s reference to the evil one or wicked one in this verse and in verse 15 of this same chapter reminds us of Jesus’ words in John 8:44 where He states that the devil “was a murderer from the beginning.” If we think that either hatred or love find their roots in the human heart, we have not gone deep enough. Hatred finds its source in the devil, whereas love originates with God. This is not to blame the devil and absolve sinful people of responsibility for their sin. But, to harbour hatred is to oppose God and put ourselves in league with the devil! Therefore, we need to be quick to judge our own hearts when we see these selfish attitudes rearing their ugly head. At best, hatred becomes indifference or avoidance of another person, causing separation and distance in relationships. At worst, selfishness and hatred become murder as James reminds us in James 4:1-2. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:21, 22; 15:19), Jesus said that anger is tantamount to murder in God’s sight, because all murder begins there. While we cringe when we hear of someone murdering someone else, we often tolerate the root of this sin by excusing our anger as justifiable. We need to see our own selfish anger as hideous and yank it out by the roots!
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord, I confess and repent of the selfishness and anger in my heart.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord Jesus, show us that we need to see our own selfish anger as hideous and that we need to yank it out of our lives by the roots. AMEN
I.B.R.A. Readings
Micah 6:1-16
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