ANGER

The Capital Sins: Part IV - ANGER

By Father Reginald Martin, O.P.

ANGER AND OUR SOCIAL RELATIONS

In his Letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul writes,

If you are angry, let it be without sin. The sun must not go down on your wrath; do not give the devil a chance to work on you.

These words are part of a larger instruction on the relations that ought to characterize Christians' dealings with one another. Elsewhere in his letter, St. Paul counsels the Ephesians - and us - to put away falsehood and speak only the truth, and to work not only to meet our own needs, but those of others. And then he adds

Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good and edifying...that it might impart grace to those who hear...Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another...

Key to St. Paul's admonition is his understanding that although we have been created as individuals, we are part of a large, complex society. Living in a community, as we do, means we must consider the goals and goods of others, not simply our own. The gift of reason, which sets us apart from the rest of God's creation, provides the key that enables us to live in harmony with others.

THE MORAL CHALLENGE OF SOCIAL LIFE

When he considers the many challenges to our common life, one contemporary writer, Kevin Vost, observes, "[anger] is a failure of our reason to rein in our irascible appetite that seeks to fight back against things that thwart our desires." (The Seven Deadly Sins, p. 173) Our experience teaches us that sin and virtue stand at opposite ends of a moral spectrum, and Vost reaches out to St. Thomas Aquinas to lay an easily- grasped picture of what we seek when we sin.

St. Thomas observed that virtue seeks a single good. This means the many good things we encounter in life finally lead us to embrace the Supreme Good, which is God, the source of all good. Sin, on the other hand, abandons the singular goodness of God, to seek out and embrace the many lesser goods that capture our fancy.

Our regard for ourselves lies at the heart of either choice, and when he considers the Capital Sins, St. Thomas Aquinas notes, "Sin is caused by a self-love in which we turn toward things of the world and away from God." (ST, I-II, 72.7)

St. Paul was an apt observer of our human nature, and a very perceptive psychologist. To live with others means we will, at least occasionally, find our desires thwarted. The result is quite apt to be our experiencing a feeling of anger that we have not "gotten our way."

But if we are angry, St. Paul says, "let it be without sin." If we look back and take another look at anger's unsavory companions on St. Paul's list of things to avoid, we might wonder how anger could possibly not be sinful. And here both the Scripture and our theology come to our assistance.

GOD SETS THE STANDARD

In his letter to the Romans (13:3-4) St. Paul admonishes us to obey those in authority. The ultimate authority, of course, is God, and our obedience should be easy because "[he is] not a terror to good conduct, but to bad...[and] he does not bear the sword in vain..." A valid, earthly authority "...is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer."

What we should notice here is that God sets the standard for anger. If we are angry, we must be angry as God is angry, which is to say, our anger must be within reason, and it must be properly directed.

A DISTINCTION

The Ancients defined anger as a desire for vengeance, and this sounds quite terrifying. Until we consider that vengeance is different from vindictiveness. The dictionary defines vengeance as "the act of punishing another for a wrong or injury he has committed."

Vindictiveness, on the other hand, is "the intention to cause harm." If we are angry because a person has done wrong, or because a situation or institution is unjust, our anger is appropriate - so long as we properly identify the object of our anger, and employ our anger to restore the order that ought to befit the Christian community.

VIRTUOUS ANGER

Jesus, who is our example in all things, offers an example of what St. Thomas Aquinas calls "zealous" anger when he drives the money-changers and livestock- dealers from the temple. Scholars can argue that these individuals were necessary for the temple sacrifices, but Jesus' point, apparently, is that they are practicing their trade in the wrong place.

And in St. Matthew's account, Jesus remarks some of the traders' shady business practices, which have turned the temple "into a den of thieves."

SINFUL ANGER

And here we might allow St. Thomas to observe two attitudes that render anger sinful. The first is to become angry too quickly, or without sufficient cause. The second is to allow our anger to linger. When St. John describes Jesus' anger in the temple he explains it with a reference to the Psalms, "Zeal for your house will consume me" (Ps 69.9) - a zeal that ought to consume us all.

Each of the evangelists records Jesus' encounter with the tradesmen, but in all the accounts, once the incident is over, it is over; the sun has set on Jesus' anger, and he is on his way.

THE SOURCE OF ANGER

Our Catechism places anger among the first of the ills we inherited as a consequence of our First Parents' sin.

In the account of Abel's murder by his brother Cain, Scripture reveals the presence of anger and envy in man, consequences of original sin, from the beginning of human history. Man has become the enemy of his fellow man. (CCC, #2259)

Jesus addresses this tragedy, in his Sermon on the Mount, when he says, "everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment." (Mt. 5:22) So important is reconciliation in our Savior's view, that he tells us we ought even to interrupt our worship to seek peace.

If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

THE LARGER PICTURE

Anger is a sin opposed to the Fifth Commandment, which obliges us not merely to respect the lives of those around us, but to strive - as Jesus commands us - for the common good of our Church and civil society. Although civil authority may have no choice, on occasion, but to employ force or other severe means to maintain public order,

If bloodless means are sufficient to defend human lives...and to protect...the safety of individuals, public authority should limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person. (CCC 2267)

The point here is one we made earlier, vengeance may be necessary; vindictiveness has no place in Christian society. Thus, Thomas Aquinas observes, "[anger] may happen to be a mortal sin if through the fierceness of his anger a man fall away from the love of God and his neighbor." (ST, II-II, 158.4)

LAZINESS IS NO VIRTUE

The example of Jesus demonstrates that virtuous, zealous anger has a place in Christian life. We may admire those placid individuals who never seem to be angry, but if this apparent calm is the result of ignoring ills that ought to be addressed, it comes at a cost, which may be just as harmful as disordered anger. St. John Chrysostom cautioned

He who is not angry, whereas he has cause to be, sins. For unreasonable patience is the hotbed of many vices, it fosters negligence, and incites not only the wicked but even the good to do wrong.

MEEKNESS:THE REMEDY FOR ANGER

Dominicans are fond of quoting the maxim, In medio stat virtus, "Virtue stands in the middle." This is the spirit of moderation St. Paul urges us to embrace. And one aid to this goal is the virtue of meekness, which Jesus commends in the Beatitudes.

Meekness, like humility, is often misunderstood as a groveling, self-effacing attitude. In fact, it is far more, and has nothing to do with shyness, weakness of character, or a poor self-image. Meekness is the virtue that moderates anger.

Thus, when Jesus says the meek will inherit the earth, he tells us that the meek are the same individuals who might very easily have taken it by force but who allow themselves to be restrained by the example of Christ who is meek and humble of heart

ASK THE BULLIES

When Jesus promised the earth to the meek he was undoubtedly identifying his own people, subject to foreign, pagan occupation. His words in the Beatitudes echo Psalm 37, in which the Psalmist rejoices

Yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more... but the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

The apocalyptic rewards for patient endurance still inspire many individuals, and for the economically disadvantaged and the politically oppressed, the beatitudes are a strong and hopeful promise of redress.

But for most of us living in the developed economic world, circumstances are far different. For us to understand the blessing of meekness, we need to look at the world for just a moment from the point of view of the bullies.

St. Thomas says that "cruel and pitiless men seek by wrangling and fighting to destroy their enemies so as to gain security for themselves." Even if we are not talking about acres of land, who of us is not capable of wrangling and fighting until we get our way?

The goal is security, and meekness reminds us that we will not find security through anger. Either a better fighter will come along or, if we get what we want by arguing, we feel so guilty we want to give it back.

THE BLESSING OF MEEKNESS

When he considers meekness, which moderates anger, St. Thomas Aquinas links it to the virtue of clemency, which moderates punishment. He finds immense value in these gifts, because - by enabling us to "resist evil inclinations" - they assist us in our quest for personal sanctity, as well as our striving for harmony with those among whom we live.

St. Thomas writes, "...anger, which is mitigated by meekness, is, on account of its impetuousness, a very great obstacle to man's free judgment of truth: wherefore meekness above all makes a man self-possessed." (ST, II-II. 157.4) Clemency, he observes, "...inasmuch as it mitigates punishment, it would seem to approach... charity, the greatest of the virtues, since thereby we do good towards our neighbor, and hinder his evil." (Ibid.)

KEY TO A SACRAMENTAL LIFE

When we were small we learned that sacraments are outward signs, instituted by Christ to give grace. This means that Jesus has chosen certain elements of our lives to go beyond whatever meaning they have in themselves to allow us to touch Him.

To meditate on the Beatitudes teaches us that to be poor in spirit, to mourn, and to be meek is to cultivate a sacramental attitude toward creation - to find signs of the Kingdom of Heaven in the things that surround us in our everyday lives - and, even if we must be angry, to nourish attitudes toward the created world that will make us the ministers, here and now, of the life we look forward to enjoying fully in the future.

This is the challenge Jesus lays down when he describes the "...faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants...Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant in charge of all his property." (Lk 12:48)

A GIFT IN TRUST

In the gospel parables, the most trusted servant is the steward, who holds the keys that lock in whatever is valuable and lock out whatever is dangerous. To be God's stewards is an immense honor, but we must not forget Jesus' admonition, "much will be demanded of the one entrusted with much."

To be God's stewards means treating creation the way God does, and it means living each day not as if it were our last, but as if God's kingdom were already here, fully revealed in our midst.

This vocation, and its obligations, are worth pondering during this Year of Mercy. To embrace meekness means laying aside - or, at least, moderating - our anger, so our dealings with the world may more clearly resemble God's. In Misericordiae Vultus, his letter on the Year of Mercy, our Holy Father is quick to remark that mercy does not diminish the demands of justice.

However, Pope Francis stresses that mercy and justice are a united reality that result in love. By humbly accepting God's mercy, we progress on our spiritual pilgrimage, guided by God's love. Pope Francis writes, "...anyone who makes a mistake must pay the price. However, this is just the beginning of conversion, not its end...." (MV, 21)

THE EXAMPLE OF MARY

Pope Francis is only the latest of the Church’s writers to reflect on Mary’s merciful role in our salvation:

Her entire life was patterned after the presence of mercy made flesh.... At the foot of the cross, Mary...witnessed the words of forgiveness spoken by Jesus. This supreme expression on mercy towards those who crucified him show us the point to which the mercy of God can reach.

Mary attests that the mercy of the Son of God knows no bounds and extends to everyone, without exception. (MV, 24) Let us address her in the words of the Salve Regina...that she may never tire of turning her merciful eyes upon us, and make us worthy to contemplate the face of mercy, her Son Jesus.

We may be forgiven, these days, if we approach the morning news with dread, and mercy is probably not our first thought when we read of terrorist attacks that claim the lives of shoppers in Germany or an aged priest celebrating Mass in France.

And yet, Jesus begged mercy for his executioners, and gave us his Mother as an example, that we might not forget how to beg - in meekness - that same mercy for those who wreak such havoc in our lives.

CITY OF GOD

St. Augustine’s The City of God

analysis by Lindsey Hurd

"There is a river the streams whereof shall make glad the city of our God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved.” Psalm xivi.iv

It was the year 410 A.D. Toppling from the heights of her golden throne, Rome, the great mistress of the world, opened her gates to barbarian invaders. Throughout the civilized world, rumors of the sacked city were greeted with horror or unbelief. Three years later, in response to the pagan’s charge that Christian impiety towards the Roman gods had brought the gods’ wrath upon the city, Saint Augustine, bishop of Hippo, took up his pen to defend Christianity from this charge.

These writings were the beginning of his great literary work, which would prove to become one of the most respected and frequently cited books of Church history. Thirteen years of labor completed this work; Augustine called it The City of God. This city, he wrote, is “…surpassingly glorious, whether we view it as it still lives by faith in this fleeting course of time, and sojourns as a stranger in the midst of the ungodly, or as it shall dwell in the fixed stability of its eternal seat . . .”

There is another city of which he also writes: the earthly one. Of it, he says, “though it be mistress of nations, it itself is ruled by its lust of rule. ”Throughout the City of God, he traces the journeys of these two cities, from the time they were founded, to how they relate with one another, the conduct of their life, and finally, their ultimate end.

When God created the world with divine perfection and set man in the midst of His garden, He knew that man would sin. The eating of the fruit brought God’s just retribution as he promised, and not just upon Adam, but upon all of his posterity, for an imperfect nature cannot beget a perfect nature. To those who found God’s punishment harsh, Augustine wrote, “But eternal punishment seems hard and unjust to human perceptions, because in the weakness of our mortal condition there is wanting that highest and purest wisdom by which it can be perceived how great a wickedness was committed in that fist transgression.

The more enjoyment men found in God, the greater was his wickedness in abandoning Him; and he who destroyed in himself a good which might have been eternal, became worthy of eternal evil.” Thus, Adam’s sin left all of mankind in the city of man, from whence it could not be freed except by Christ’s blood. Augustine believed that God chose to redeem His own people so that the world could see the efficacy of earthly grace, and on the other hand, He chose to let the rest continue in condemnation so that the world might also see the severity of retribution.

Of the worldly city, Augustine wrote that Cain was the founder, and of the heavenly city, Abel. Though it could be argued that Adam actually founded the earthly city when he ate of the fruit, Augustine apparently preferred Cain as founder. At the hands of Cain, the earth first swallowed the blood of man, and it was first recorded of him that he arose and built cities. Whoever were the true founders, Augustine was certain that all of humanity is divided into one of these antithical cities.

One consists of those living according to man, while the other lives according to God; “one is predestined to reign eternally with God, and the other to suffer eternal punishment with the devil.” (XV.1) Thus, these the two cities exhibit two loves; the earthly loves itself to the contempt of God, whilst the heavenly city loves God, to the contempt of flesh. The former seeks glory from men, the latter from God, saying, “Thou art my glory. And the lifter up of mine head.” (Ps. 3:3)

That part of the heavenly city which sojourns here on earth is composed of numerous households, and the way these are ruled contributes in a very real way to the function of the whole city. The principles this city must live by, and which must be encouraged on behalf of all household members by the head of the house are the two greatest commandments: Thou shalt love the Lord they God, and thy neighbor as thyself.

In the spiritual life of each individual Christian, Augustine indicated that there must be a balance between living an active Christian life (societal involvement) and a contemplative life (that is, contemplation of God). Not surprisingly, however, Augustine placed more emphasis upon the latter. Influenced as he was by this platonic doctrine of contemplation of the greatest Good, he believed, to some degree, in the encompassing superiority of contemplation in the whole of Christian life. However, he also recognized the importance of active Christian life and the danger of selfishly indulging in contemplation to the detriment of Christian service in the body of Christ.

On the flip side of this, he warned that active life, unaccompanied by contemplation, quickly saps a Christian of the strength to press forward. In his own words, “No man has a right to lead such a life of contemplation as to forget in his own ease the service due to his neighbor; nor has any man a right to be so immersed in active life as to neglect the contemplation of God.” (XIX.17)

In the earthly city, the people thereof receive the rain and food the Father gives them, but their darkened hearts are deprived of His unchangeable light, and they give him not thanks. These citizens prefer their own impious and proud gods and delight in their own strength, which represents itself in the person of their rulers. Oftentimes, the greed and selfishness of these rulers grasp for self-serving privileges and divine honors at the expense of their subjects, so that they lead their people into bondage and make war upon liberty itself.

Besides the physical qualities surrounding the life of the earthly city, there are also the stark spiritual and moral qualities which threaten the people therein. Augustine writes, “where there is no true religion, there are no true virtues . . . For what kind of mistress of the body and the vices can that mind be which is ignorant of the true God, and which, instead of being subject to His authority, is prostituted to the corrupting influences of the most vicious demons?” Though the earthly city may demand strict moral obedience to its law, true virtue will not result because there is no religion other than the true religion which has an absolute law of justice and morality.

Thus, the earthly city’s laws are always open to abuse, ambiguous interpretation, or “progress.” There is no higher law than the leaders of this city. In fact, Augustine believed that the very virtues exhibited by the unbelievers are in actuality vices if they are not exercised within a biblical framework. These, he says, are “inflated with pride, and are therefore reckoned vices.” What he essentially meant is that when sinful man, in the pride of his own might undertakes to live a virtuous life apart from the lordship of Christ, he obviates his stiff-necked refusal of God’s Word all the more.

These two cities, Augustine wrote, share a common desire: peace. However, they have different methods of seeking it. The earthly city seeks earthly peace and an orderly society, but it strives for peace as the product of man’s intelligence and administrative abilities. That part of the heavenly city which dwells on earth seeks earthly peace as well, but only when it complements their ultimate goal of peace under God.

As Augustine writes, they “[make] this earthly peace bear upon the peace of heaven; for this alone can be truly called and esteemed the peace of the reasonable creatures, consisting as it does in the perfectly ordered and harmonious enjoyment of God and of one another in God.” (XIX.17) Because of this different view of peace, discord sometimes arises between these two cites.

The eternal lot of the earthly city is eternal death, where they dwell because they forsook their God, after which God forsook them.“Death,” Augustine wrote, “then, of the soul takes place when God forsakes it, as the death of the body when the soul forsakes it.Therefore, the death of both – that is, of the whole man—occurs when the soul, forsaken by God, forsakes man. For in this case, neither is God the life of the soul, nor the soul the life of the body” (XIII.1). The City of God welcomes its citizens to their heavenly home, where they live in eternal rest and blissful joy with God, where all things cry out that He is indeed God.

“Now, when they were come up to the gate, there was written over it in letters of Gold, ‘Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city’” - (Pilgrim’s Progress).

UNREPENTANT CAIN

Genesis 4

Peace be with you, listening friends. We greet you in the name of God, the Lord of peace, who wants everyone to understand and submit to the way of righteousness that He has established, and have true peace with Him forever. We are happy to be able to return today to present your program The Way of Righteousness.

In our last program we learned about the first two sons of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel. We saw how each of them wanted to worship God and present to Him a sacrifice. Cain took some crops that he had cultivated and offered them to God. But Abel offered God a lamb without blemish and slaughtered it as a sacrifice that covers sin. And the Scripture declares: "The Lord accepted Abel but He did not accept Cain."

Why did God accept Abel but not Cain? Because God's way of righteousness demanded a blood sacrifice. God judged Abel as righteous because he believed the Word of God and brought the offering that God required. As for Cain, he attempted to approach God through his own efforts, which is why God did not accept him.

Today we plan to conclude our study about Cain and Abel. Do you know what happened after God refused Cain's sacrifice? In the book of Genesis, chapter four, verse five, the Scripture says: "So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast." (Gen. 4:5) Why was Cain angry? That is not difficult to understand. To illustrate, if I do something bad and someone says to me, "You have done wrong! Change your ways, and do what is right!" how might I respond to the one who rebuked me? Either I will humbly receive his words and change my ways or I will get angry with him and continue in my error.

God rebuked Cain so that he might realize that the works of his hands, which he had presented as a sacrifice, were worthless before God. God wanted Cain to repent and to bring the sacrifice of a lamb without blemish, as Abel had done. God wanted to lead Cain in the right way, the way of forgiveness. However Cain, in his pride, refused to admit his transgression before God. Instead, he became angry and despondent.

Thus, "the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.'" (Gen. 4:6,7) Why did God question Cain in this way? He questioned him because He did not want Cain to perish. God wanted Cain to repent of his sins, and follow the right way. God was warning Cain about a terrible enemy, which threatened to destroy him and his descendants. That enemy is called Sin!

What is sin? Sin is the problem of the world. It is our worst enemy. Sin is like a snake, full of deadly poison. It is like a little spark that can burn up a great forest. Sin is a torch with which Satan is burning up the world! The Word of God says, "Anyone …who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." (Jam. 4:17) "Sin is lawlessness…. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning." (1 John 3:4,8) Sin is the force that moves in the members of our bodies and fights against what is true and good. Sin is anything that does not agree with the will of God. Sin is refusing to believe and obey the Word of God. To go my own way is sin. (See Isaiah 53:6)

What will be the end of those who go their own way and refuse to believe God and obey Him? The Scriptures say, "They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power." (2 Thes. 1:9) Those who come by the way of salvation that God has decreed will be granted eternal life. But those who harden their hearts against the truth will face God's wrath and judgment. However, the Scriptures say that God does not want "anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance!" (2 Pet. 3:9) God did not want Cain to perish in his sin. What He wanted was for Cain to repent, forsake the way of unrighteousness that he had chosen, and choose the way of righteousness.

As we saw in the last program, the Lord God had revealed a plan by which sinners could be made righteous before Him. Abel believed in God's plan, and slaughtered a spotless lamb as a sacrifice that covers sin. Abel believed what God said, "The [penalty for] sin is death," and "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin!" (Rom. 6:23; Heb. 9:22) Because of the shed blood of the lamb, Abel had a clear conscience before God. Abel knew that he was a guilty sinner deserving God's punishment, but he knew also that he had offered an innocent lamb just as God required. The lamb which Abel sacrificed was an illustration of the Savior who was to come into the world to offer up His life as a sacrifice that would cancel man's debt of sin forever. As for Cain, he pretended to believe God, but his deeds denied it. Cain honored God with his mouth, but his heart was far from Him. The blood of a lamb is what God demanded, but Cain offered Him the works of his hands. Cain's worship was absolutely worthless before God, because he did not accept God's way.

Let us now read the next verse to see what Cain did after God rebuked him for his worthless sacrifice. The Scripture says, "Now Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let's go out to the field.' And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him." (Gen. 4:8) What did Cain do? Did he repent? Did he believe God and bring to Him the blood of a lamb as a sacrifice for sin? No! Cain added sin to sin by attacking his brother Abel and killing him.

Incredible! Cain, who refused to shed the blood of a lamb so that God could forgive him his sins, now shed the blood of his righteous brother! What do you think about this? Who placed within the mind of Cain the idea to kill his brother? To whom was Cain listening? Cain was listening to Satan. The Scriptures say that he killed his brother because Cain "belonged to the evil one." (1 John 3:12). We have already seen how God announced that there would be two lines (groups) of people in the world, the people of God and the people of Satan. Abel belonged to God because he believed the Word of God enough to obey it. Cain belonged to Satan because he did not believe the Word of God.

Let us now listen to what God said to Cain after he killed his younger brother.


"Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?' 'I don't know,' he replied. 'Am I my brother's keeper?' The Lord said, 'What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.'" (Gen. 4:9-12)


Thus, God punished Cain, saying, "When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you." Wolof wisdom says, "The cow kicks its calf but does not hate it." Similarly, God did not punish Cain to condemn him, but to lead him to repent of his sin, believe the truth, and be saved. Yet what did Cain do? Did he repent? No, he did not. The Scriptures say, "So Cain went out from the Lord's presence and lived in the land of Nod." (Gen. 4:16) Cain, who ignored the word of God, turned his back on God, shutting Him out of his life. It was not God who distanced Himself from Cain, but Cain who distanced himself from God.

Today, most of Adam's descendants resemble Cain, continuing in their own way and closing their hearts to God's voice. With their lips they say, "God is great!" but in their hearts they think, "God is far away! No one can know Him!" However, the Word of God shows us that God is not far from any one of us, because He is the One who gives to everyone life and breath and everything else. He is closer to us than our own heartbeat. God knows you personally, and wants you to know Him personally too! (See Acts 17:24-31; Romans 10:1-13)

Why is it then that most people do not come to know God (personally)? The Word of God answers this question. God says, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."(John 3:19,20)

People do not know God, because like Cain, they have turned their backs on His Word. God's prophet David wrote: "[God's] word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." (Psa. 119:105) If you turn your back on the light of the Word of God, you will remain in the darkness of sin and you will never come to know God. God will seem far from you. Yet, God wants you to know that He is not far away. He is behind you. He is at your side. He is right in front of you. God loves you and wants to have a close relationship with you. But you must not be like Cain, who hardened his heart and refused to accept God's way of righteousness. God wanted Cain to repent. To this very day, God is commanding every person to repent, turn to Him, and believe His Word.

Do you know what it means to repent? It means to change your thoughts and your actions. To repent is to confess before God, "I have been wrong in my thinking concerning the way of salvation that you have established!" To repent is to agree with God that you have no possible way of saving yourself from His righteous judgment, and then to turn to Him and submit to His way of salvation.

A person who truly repents is like a traveler who wants to take the train from Thies {Senegal's 2nd largest city} to Dakar {the Capital}. He buys a ticket and climbs aboard. Later, as he is traveling along, he discovers that he is on the train going to Bamako {in Mali, the opposite direction}! What must he do if he is ever to get to Dakar? He must "repent"--that is, he must admit that he is heading in the wrong direction, get off the train at the next stop, and get on the train that goes to Dakar. Thus, we see that genuine repentance has two sides: rejecting the wrong and accepting the right. True repentance involves two actions. First, you must turn from yourself, your sins, your idols and your self-efforts to gain God's favor. Then you must turn to God and His Word which tells you how to be saved. That is true repentance.

As for Cain, he never repented. Cain chose to continue in his own way. He refused to submit to the way of salvation established by God. That is why the Scriptures say: "Cain perished on the way of unrighteousness, which caused God to reserve for him the blackest darkness forever!" (Jude 11, 13)

Oh dear friends, may we not be like Cain! Let us pay attention to the solemn warning from God which says, "Unless you repent, you too will all perish!" (Luke 13:3) God's judgment is sure and will fall upon all those who have never been cleansed from their sins.

Let there be no mistake about this: you will never become righteous before God based on your own good works. Like Cain, many people believe that they will escape God's judgment by attempting to follow the rules and regulations of their religion. But being religious does not make one righteous. God's Word says:

"No one will be declared righteous in [God's] sight by observing the law…. All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…. For it is by grace you [are] saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast!" (Rom. 3:20; Isa. 64:6; Eph. 2:8,9)


Thank you for listening. God willing, in the next program, we will study about some of Adam's descendants, including the Prophet of God, Enoch….

God bless you as you thoughtfully consider what you have heard today. The Scriptures say:


"God is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance…. [But if you do not] repent, you will perish!" (1 Pet. 3:9; Luke 13:3)