How can I be a true follower of Jesus Christ at work? – Example ‘Cain and Abel’

Dear Friends,

The story of Cain and Abel is interesting, intriguing, and hopefully full of learning for those who are willing to learn from it.

As you would imagine, there have been many speculative versions of the story including a recent court drama version by a Rabbi, of which an excerpt can be read in the Times Union of 28 October 2020 https://bit.ly/candacourtroomdrama

For this blog, we would of course stick with the biblical description of which the entire story can be read in Chapter 4 of Genesis. This is set after the fall of man represented by Adam and Eve and I will keep the focus of discussion to verses 1-5.

Cain was the first child of Eve and Adam, followed by Abel. The brothers were both Farmers; Cain worked the soil whilst Abel kept flocks, they both brought offerings to the Lord, and there end the similarities.

Abel’s offering was fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock and he received favour from the Lord. Cain, on the other hand, offered some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord but his offering was not well received.

Looking closely at verses 3 and 4, the difference is that Abel offered the best of his flock even before he saw the entire harvest whilst Cain grudgingly gave something after he had satisfied himself with the best of his crops.

Another narrative is that Cain offered the ordinary and Abel the best, and the quality of their offering reflects the condition of their hearts. Abel is enthusiastic in his worship, while Cain is basically uninterested.

The truth is that God was not troubled that Cain brought vegetables rather than meat. If Cain had brought the firstfruits, the very best of his produce, then God would have accepted that offering. And God made that clear to him.

God put the question direct to Cain after he got angry that the Lord did not look on his offering with favour. God asked him “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

There you have it! The first sermon in the Bible, preached by God Himself, and directed squarely at the heart of Man in the workplace!!!

God, knowing what was in Cain’s heart, challenged his reaction to His judgement on why his offering was not received with favour. To paraphrase, God said to Cain ‘do you expect me to receive with favour what you gave grudgingly after you took the best for yourself?’

The sermon did not end there, the Lord then warned Cain of the repercussion of failing to do what is right. The Lord told him he must rule over sin (verse 7). Cain, of course, did not listen to the Lord which lead him to be infamously named the first murderer in the Bible!

Could this be the murder weapon?

Now for a quick recap of the lessons:

Was the story of Cain and Abel a conflict between two professions? No

Was Abel’s offering received with favour because of the quantity? No

Was Cain’s offering less favourable because it is vegetables and not meat? No

Was Abel’s offering received with favour because of the quality? Yes

Did Cain have an opportunity to repent and make things right? Yes

 What determines the quality of both offerings to God? Their Heart of worship

The heart of worship

The Heart of Worship

Reflecting on whether we have a heart of worship is the biggest lesson I want us to take from the example of Cain and Abel. This should not be difficult if we put things in the right perspective with the following truths:

• God is the creator and owner of everything. This includes us and everything we produce in the workplace
• He is the one who gifted and equipped us with everything we are using to produce
• We are created to worship God with everything we have
• God is the only one who can fully satisfy us, nothing else in this world can
• God is worthy of our worship because He loved us so much that He gave us His one and only Son so we can have eternal life in HIM
• We cannot take anything out of this world but our reward is waiting for us when we finish here

We Worship Him with everything we have in truth and in Spirit

As previously written, these blogs are for followers of Jesus Christ who are determined to obey Him in all areas of our lives. His greatest commandment is that we should love Him “with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind” (Matt 22:37). Therefore, unlike Cain, we should not just go through the motions of worship but like Abel, we should offer our best to God.

We have to be mindful that we do not think of our worship of God in the workplace only in terms of our salaries. We need a more holistic appraisal of our motive for work, how we live each day at work, and how we can be a good steward of the product of our work.

Practically speaking we need to do the below:

• See our work as an act of worship to the Lord
• Work at what we do as if we are working for the Lord
• Show the good characters of a disciple of Jesus Christ at work
• Signpost others to Jesus by our action, by sharing our testimonies, and by sharing the Gospel as we have opportunities
• Heed God’s warning and stay away from sin such as laziness, gossiping, envy, jealousy, and so on
• Offer to God the best of what we get, this is not just about money (tithes and offerings) but all the praise and respect we get from our jobs. We must give all the glory to God.
• Join a fellowship of Christ Disciples in our workplace or start one if there is none. You may contact us at FM Ministry if you need support in starting a workplace fellowship.

Please continue to send your feedback and comments to hello@fmministry.co.uk or use the comment box below.

God bless you and keep growing in the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Adesina