“In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” –Genesis 4:3-7

Happy St. Patty’s day to all. If you aren’t wearing green I dub thee pinched! Today is not a day known for its calmness especially if you are Irish. You generally hear about all of the parties that are going on, we see all of the green that people are wearing, and sometimes we hear about the tragedy that comes along with those things. We hear about all of the people who got pulled over, the amount of drivers who made poor decisions about their drinking, and we hear about many youth who made poor choices and get in trouble for that as well. But you never hear about those people who have a nice dinner, have a couple of drinks, and head home to be ready for the next day’s work. Crazy right? So many people in our world get so caught up in the crazy chaos of life that they get sucked in. They worry more about which celebrities are having problems or what party they may be going to tomorrow night. Their relationship with God or going to church are put second or maybe not even put anywhere.

            Cain and Abel are a perfect example of that. They both bring an offering before God which was customary of that time, but Cain’s was whatever he could gather and Abel’s was the first fruits of his flock. Cain gave the leftovers and God didn’t pay attention to his offering whereas Abel gave the best of what he had to God and God noticed. What happens next? Cain gets angry and the next thing we know is that he has killed his brother Abel. Cain gives into his anger and all we see is chaos. We are just like the story of Cain and Abel. We forget to put God first and let ourselves get wrapped up in the chaos of this world. When we remember that God is the one who has given us all things and provides for our needs our world calms down a little bit. Maybe not on the outside but we have a calmness about us inside. Let’s call that calmness peace. That peace that comes from knowing God gave His first fruits (Jesus) as a sacrifice for us paying for all of our chaos for eternity! Kiss chaos goodbye!

Question for Reflection: How does the story of Cain and Abel show discipline and chaos?

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"    “In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.” -Deepak Chopra