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UV 1578/10000 @
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Genesis 4 v 7
In this one uni-verse, the Lord makes it clear that it is our attitude quotient that makes all the difference between true success and fulfilment and failure. In the first instance of sibling rivalry in recorded history, Cain was angry that his sibling Abel had won favour with God with his sacrifice of the best in his view of the firstfruit of his flock as against Cain’s offering of some of his agricultural produce. Abel’s offering was wholehearted – he gave of his best. He did so out of his love and reverence for the Creator. Cain gave less than his best. If attitude quotient is represented by @ then Cain’s attitude is @=anger+sadness+resentment+jealousy=satan or sin ruling over his heart, mind and life. That kind of powerful cocktail of emotions tries to overpower him but God urges him to master or overcome it. Cain listens to the counsel of the wicked and commits the first murder in recorded history of Abel, his own brother. His motive and his emotions control his body and he does violence to his own. Cain allowed the enemy to occupy a part of his heart. With just a wedge or a toe hold, he can make a stronghold. A little compromise is sufficient to negate promise and potential. Thereafter, one can only seek comfort as Cain cried out to God as he could not bear the punishment for his crime. Abel’s blood itself became a precursor or foreshadow of the Messiah Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross.

If Cain’s attitude quotient was right, he had the equal opportunity of having good standing in the sight of God. Cain wanted to get even with Abel by eliminating him so that he would never be a threat to his well being again. In so doing, he sealed his fate literally. To this day, our attitude quotient determines our actions and the consequences we face in life. Lucifer representing rebellion, pride, ignorance, folly lies at the door of our hearts waiting to enter and dominate or lead us from within to become restless wanderers on earth. Jesus stands at the door of our hearts as a good Shepherd waiting to enter, help us, save us, lead us into eternal life.

Jesus spelt out what our attitude quotient should be. We should always be @peace,@humility,@righteousness,@mercy,@purity,@endurance,@joy,@contentment. These are the spiritual mail ids where the Lord delivers the promised blessings we are praying for and expecting. It is God’s will that we should do well, be blessed and live by grace. If we neglect our attitude quotient and be careless like Cain, we will be destined to be restless wanderers on this earth, finding neither rest nor peace on earth or in the life hereafter. One question we can keep asking ourselves is : what am I @ right now? Am I at peace with God and man? Am I humble? Am I faithful? Am I merciful? Am I pure? Am I contented? Then we will discern where we are. We can seek God’s grace to fill the gaps wherever and whenever we come short.

Prateep V Philip