Introduction. When God created the heavens and the earth, He made man “in His image and according to His likeness.” (Gen. 1:27-28) This was done flawlessly and perfectly. Until sin entered the world, those living in heaven and those on earth (Adam and Eve) were in harmony. God’s attributes, perfectly reflected in man’s eternal soul, allowed God’s light to shine within them. Man thought as God thought, lived as God lived, and every decision was in complete harmony with God’s will. The love of God and His righteous care and concern that others be treated fairly, which had existed for all eternity in heaven, was perfectly formed in the souls of Adam and Eve.
Sin changed all that. Man’s character and demeanor became selfish, self-centered and ultimately, evil. Decisions were made based only on the benefit to self with little to no consideration to the harm it would cause others. Since “love does no harm to a neighbor,” once sin entered the world, man’s ability to love as God loves vanished. Selfishly using others for their own desires, regardless of the damage done, would be became the norm. “God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.” (Ecc. 7:29)
God gives few details of the rapid descent of man into corruption, but Cain’s choices clearly reveal how quickly and terribly sin corrupted man’s heart. Cain had no care or concern for God’s feelings. He selfishly refused to hear how God wanted to be worshiped. When God rejected Cain’s “selfish worship,” instead of remorse and godly sorrow at his rejection, he became bitterly angry at God for refusing him on his terms. Later, when Abel as God’s prophet sought to reason with him, Cain was the first to persecute and kill a prophet (Lk. 11:49-51). It only took one generation for man to move from the image of God to a complete lack of respect for God and for Abel’s life.
Sin changed all that. Man’s character and demeanor became selfish, self-centered and ultimately, evil. Decisions were made based only on the benefit to self with little to no consideration to the harm it would cause others. Since “love does no harm to a neighbor,” once sin entered the world, man’s ability to love as God loves vanished. Selfishly using others for their own desires, regardless of the damage done, would be became the norm. “God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.” (Ecc. 7:29)
God gives few details of the rapid descent of man into corruption, but Cain’s choices clearly reveal how quickly and terribly sin corrupted man’s heart. Cain had no care or concern for God’s feelings. He selfishly refused to hear how God wanted to be worshiped. When God rejected Cain’s “selfish worship,” instead of remorse and godly sorrow at his rejection, he became bitterly angry at God for refusing him on his terms. Later, when Abel as God’s prophet sought to reason with him, Cain was the first to persecute and kill a prophet (Lk. 11:49-51). It only took one generation for man to move from the image of God to a complete lack of respect for God and for Abel’s life.