The Terms Of Worship

And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. Genesis 4:3-4

Few stories have stirred up hearts and permeated the consciousness of peoples of all times as the story of Cain and Abel. It has inspired songs, led to creation of comic characters, and the very names evoke an image of certain character. Very soon after Adam & Eve’s disobedience, the Bible gives us a window into the sin-stricken nature of man, and the description of the first fratricide. Without a lot of detail the Bible tells us that the two brothers come to worship God and bring Him sacrifices. Abel, the shepherd, brings the firstborn of his flock; Cain, the agrarian, brings the fruits of his fields. We are not told specifically why, but the Bible tells us, “the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering.”

I read someone describe this as a very capricious act on God’s part. They reasoned that Cain and Abel, both made an effort, and therefore were deserving of acknowledgement and praise. In other words, God ought to have been more understanding of Cain. On the surface, notwithstanding the excellent reasons for God’s rejection that can be easily understood from the proper reading of the Bible, the argument appeals to the modern mind. We are a culture where “good intentions” count for something. After all is it not the thought that counts? We realize our infirmities, and therefore also realize the effort in doing good. We can see why we ought to applaud Cain for trying. He, at least showed up with a gift! We want to side with the under-dog because we often are one ourselves. We rate “sincerity”, especially in our spiritual pursuits, very high. I think Cain did too. Cain’s countenance fell because God rejected his worship, and God gently reminds him that “if he will do well, will he not be accepted?” In other words, offer me worship on my terms, not on yours, and it will be accepted. And, instead of responding with humility to this revelation, Cain is angered, and instead kills his brother. I can imagine Cain reasoning, “Abel is a bigot. Why do I have to worship like he does? That offering works for him, and this works for me. Why should God just not accept it?” All this while not realizing that it is not because of Abel, his worship is acceptable, it is simply Abel’s obedience to God’s prescription for worship that made him acceptable. Abel is worshipping God on God’s terms; Cain, on his terms. Cain does not mind God, as long as he gets to say what sort of God he ought to be, and what he ought to accept.

The under girding belief of the modern mind is not much different than Cain’s - “I am not perfect, but God ought to accept me because I am at least sincere.” What is really being said is “I want to worship God on my terms.” In fact, it is the most insincere thing to say. Sincerity, in this case is simply a guise for pride. A sincere heart is first a humble heart that yearns for God’s revelation and wants to worship God on God’s terms. Christians insist that we cannot approach God apart from Christ, not because they are bigoted, it is simply because they believe God has revealed Himself, and has revealed the terms of approaching Him. Jesus says, “No one can come to the Father, except through Me” and saying that, He gave Himself up on the cross for our sins, rose again, and we simply believe Him. Like Abel we have done nothing to deserve the acceptance any more than Cain, except that we are willing to worship God on His terms.

Friend, I pray that we become sincere enough to approach God as He desires. The Bible says, “we are to God the fragrance of Christ.” May I invite you to trust in Christ, and He promises that “whosoever believes in Me I will in no wise cast out,” and “if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.” In Christ, our worship is acceptable.

Danesh Manik