The Beginning
Killing the right people....
It’s often said that taking the first step is the most difficult.
I tend to disagree. The most difficult steps are taken 10 years down the road when you are broken, beaten and tired. When you are on the 14th kilometer of a 20 kilometer ruck march and you see a hill in the distance. Those are the difficult steps. When your boots are soaked and caked with mud; 5 pounds heavier, and it is all you can do to move your legs.
Most folks never see that side of life. I suppose they wouldn’t want to. I seem to remember a study that examined the psychological impact of a soldier killing someone at different distances. I can’t quite remember the intervals but I do remember that it began at knife range and ended at artillery range. We can probably assume that drones didn’t exist then so it’s feasible to lump drones in with artillery. For the sake of fun, let’s assume knife range, rifle range and artillery range. Turns out that it is way harder for a man to kill another man the closer you are to them. Go figure. The researchers found that the further the distance one is from the person being killed, the less it tends to impact them. Could it be possible that it is far more difficult to pull the trigger when you can see someone’s eyes…or is it their humanity? Could there be something that is built into us to make us inherently feel that murder and killing are a sin?
I wonder how hard it was for Cain when he killed Abel. Did he look into his brother’s eyes as the breath left his lungs?
Did Cain watch as the spirit left his brother’s body and the light in his eyes dimmed eternally?
Did Cain, in that moment right before Abel breathed his last breath, feel regret? Did he regret what he had done? Do you think he felt sad? Did he like it? Did it feel good to him?
Genesis 4:8 explains that in the field Cain murders his brother, but it is the beginning of this verse that we find God’s wisdom.
“Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out in the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.” NIV
“Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.” NASB
“Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.” ESV
“Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.” NKJV
As redundant as it seems, I find it extremely useful to examine multiple translations, as translation is truly more of a nuanced art than it is a hard science. When we look at the same verse translated 4 different ways we begin to see commonalities.
Each verse begins with Cain verbally communicating something to his brother. What it was doesn’t matter much because the meaning is staring you in the face. Cain was angry and jealous. Cain said something to his brother and they ended up in the field together. Then Cain murdered him. Can we assume that Cain had planned this? Was this premeditated murder? Did Cain actually intend to only speak with his brother and he lost his temper? A crime of passion perhaps?
Do we really think God cares whether Cain should be charged with 1st degree murder or 1st degree manslaughter?
Gen 4:9-10
“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.” NIV
Powerful. “Your brother’s blood cried out to me from the ground.” Can we assume that God heard it? Does God hear the blood crying out from the ground every time a man uses his own hand to slay another? When one human, made in the image of God, take’s another human’s life. Snuffing out a beautiful and unique soul that was crafted by God himself. Does God have to listen to that?
Genesis 4 tells us that Cain was mad about how his offering was received by God in comparison to his brother. Cain was clearly angry and jealous. God sees this in Cain and like a good father, seeks to offer wisdom.
God says that there is no reason to be angry. If you do what’s right in the first place then you know what you will get. If you don’t then sin is crouching at your door waiting to have you, possess you, control you; but you must rule over it.
The problem here is Cain. Cain wants to make his own rules and reap the reward. God tries to reason with him and warns him but to no avail. We have our bibles, God gives us wisdom, but for some reason we trust the politicians more than God. We want to make up our own rules. We want to kill the bad people.
At some point he speaks to his brother Abel. They both end up in the field and Cain kills Abel. When questioned about it, Cain replies he is not responsible for Abel. Again we see selfishness, anger and jealousy overtaking Cain.
So what have we learned here?
Murder is morally wrong.
If we do what is right then we should not worry because our offering will be accepted by God.
God hears our sin. Abel’s blood cries out to God for justice. For order to be restored.
Can we all agree now that killing is wrong?
Can we all agree that because God made us in his image, that when we kill human beings it hurts God?
Now what happens if Cain didn’t kill Abel with his hands, what if he used a drone?
The farther away we are from our sin, the easier it is to keep sinning. American Christians must understand that God tells us in the very beginning that killing hurts him. God does not care why. We should not kill and call ourselves Christian. It is far easier to lie to yourself when the cries of the dead are across oceans. Far away, where you can’t see or hear the blood.
Christ did not come to destroy the world, he came to save it. We should always value humanity and life over destruction and death. We must begin to understand that our perspective and the way in which we see God’s word and the world is flawed. God is not happy that the Ayatollah of Iran is dead. God didn’t pick a side.
“No way!” you say. He was a muslim. He chanted “Death to America.” He wanted a nuclear bomb!
We don’t get to kill our brother because he angers us. Maybe we should consider that if we do right, then our offering will be accepted.
There is a great deal wrong with the American Protestant Christian Church. Honestly, the entire christian western world is slowly dying. Nobody seems to have a plan. Nobody is really thinking about it. Sure folks pretend to care, but we haven’t seen change. We are continually disappointed by our political leaders as they are routinely found out to be CINO (Christian in Name Only).
Politics should not form our faith. Our faith should form our politics. If you are a christian and you are celebrating anyone being killed then I highly suggest you ask God if he is hearing what you’re hearing.
America has become like Cain. We want…..everything and we think God favors us. God favors people not countries. If anything, God has warned us that if we do what is right then our offering is accepted but if we don’t, the sin seeks to ambush us and capture us. We must rule over it. We cannot as Christians, continue to vote for people that love killing. We especially cannot quietly allow those who love killing to use our God YHWH for justification.
What sounds like a victory celebration to you may not sound so sweet to God. Maybe what God hears is the blood of the victim. And I don’t think he is happy about it.
As a soft cry rises from the blood stained fields,
As the clay and rock are washed with brain matter and organ meat,
As small children’s body parts are collected in wheel barrows by their parents,
As flag draped coffins return home,
As mother’s lie to themselves that their sons and daughters died for something,
God softly whispers to his children, “You’re killing all the right people, now start cutting taxes.”