A City with Walls
Cain should have responded with remorse and repentance when God rejected his sacrifice, but instead, he became angry and sulked (Gen 4:3-5). His reaction was foolish, and the Lord replied with this warning: “…if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it” (Gen 4:7b). The bad news is that Cain has a deadly enemy—sin, an ever-present predator that desires to dominate him. The good news is that Cain has the power to “do what is right” (Genesis 4:7a) and to master this implacable foe. The choice is his.
In his commentary on Genesis (The Rational Bible), Hebrew scholar Dennis Prager argues, “The statement ‘yet you can be its master’ is one of the Torah’s most important statements.” He continues: “It means we have moral free will. That we can rule over our desire to do wrong is the most empowering idea in life… One might say self-control is the most important achievement.” While we might have expressed it differently, he draws an important conclusion from the text. We are the sons of Adam, with all the weaknesses, frailties, and impulses that beset our fallen condition. Our “own lust” tempts us (James 1:13-14), and we pay a heavy price when we let it control us. Cain’s jealousy and resentment ended in the horrible crime of fratricide. In David’s case, uncontrolled passion led to adultery, murder, and deep regret. Naaman almost returned home without being cured of leprosy because he lost his temper at an imagined insult. Samson’s great physical strength could not save him from his self-indulgence and impulsiveness. Just like them, we are broken children of Adam, struggling for self-mastery while sin crouches at the door.
Paul tells us that self-control (NASB egkrateia) is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The Spirit’s sword, the word of God (Ephesians 6:17), has the power to transform and renew our minds (Romans 12:2) when we let it dwell within our hearts (Colossians 3:16). Self-regulation is part of that renewal. The apostle tells us that he practices self-control (NASB 1 Corinthians 9:25) in his own life, lest, having preached to others, he forfeits his own salvation. Christians are not passive in the process of spiritual growth, and Peter exhorts us to “make every effort” (ESV, NIV, NET, Holman) to add “self-control” to our faith (2 Peter 1:5-6). Without self-restraint, a person is “like a city broken into and without walls” (Proverbs 25:28)—vulnerable to the enemy, double-minded, and defenceless in a hostile world. Let’s become a city with walls.
Rex
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