The Fix Is (Not) In
To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord. – Genesis 4:26, ESV
For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. – 1 John 3:11-16, NIV
“That worldly things are the only things that carnal wicked people set their hearts upon and are most ingenious and industrious about. So it was with the impious race of cursed Cain. Here was a father of shepherds and a father of musicians, but not a father of the faithful. Here was one to teach in brass and iron, but none to teach the good knowledge of the Lord. Here were devices how to be rich, and how to be mighty, and how to be merry, but nothing of God.” – Matthew Henry
“Lamech’s taunt-song reveals the swift progress of sin. Where Cain succumbed to it Lamech exults in it; where Cain had sought protection Lamech looks round for provocation: the savage disproportion of killing a mere lad for a mere wound is the whole point of this boast.” – Derek Kidner
One of the overarching themes of Scripture is the futility of finding a solution for sin in humanity. We are poor fixers. We are excellent mess makers. And, this isn’t some anomaly or problem we can therapy or educate our way out of. No, humanity has been corrupted by sin and that corruption is multiplying chaos as it comes down the generations to us. Thankfully, God in His grace did not (and does not) leave us entirely to our own devices. God sent us the Anti-Cain in Jesus. Cain killed His brother. Jesus died for His brothers and sisters. Cain hated his brother. Jesus shows the highest level and kind of love for us. Even in the mothers of both men, we have an amazing contrast. Eve ‘gets’ or “produces” a man. Mary receives Jesus. Cain’s name means get or produce. Jesus’ name means “Yahew saves”. Cain is the anti-hero, Jeus is the hero. If we are to grow in our freedom from sin, something God wants for us. We are going to have to learn to refuse to look inward for our solution. In both salvation and sanctification, our efforts must begin with calling on the name of the Lord. To direct our efforts inward is a fool’s errand. We cannot fix us. God can fix us. He longs to do so. The question is if we will take the path of Cain or the path of Christ. Let us be those who look God-ward even as the world tries to flood us with a myriad of man centered solutions. We have the unique position from which to humbly reject any clever human centered fix. We have had the wonderful experience of being rescued by Christ. In Him, we have a solution that is not our own. In Him, we have the only solution that has ever worked to rescue and save.
Questions for further discussion/life application:
What helps you to determine if a solution is human-centered or God centered?
Reflecting on your story, what lie(s) did you believe that led you to pursue a human-centered solutions to the problems in your life? How will you avoid those same lies in the future?
How would you explain to a non-Christian the futility of seeking a solution to our problems that is human centered? How would you help them to see the hope of the gospel in offering a solution outside of us?
A great unknowing illustration of how sin’s corruption makes us the problem: Am I A Bad Person?