To Encourage You

Hebrews 11:4 “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.”

Do you know that the way a person worships reveals an awful lot about their faith (or the lack thereof)?  We see this in the passage above that refers back to the Genesis account of Cain and Abel.  We are told that both of these brothers offered sacrifices to God.  In a sense, then, they both worshipped.  However, God was pleased with Abel’s worship, but not with Cain’s.  What was the difference?

Well, if we go back to Genesis 4:2-5 we read this: “Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 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.” Looking a little closer, we see that Cain’s offering is described as “an offering of the fruit of the ground,” while Abel’s is described as “the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.” It’s the difference between offering something versus offering the very best.  It’s all about the motives behind the actions. In this case, it’s about the way someone gives to the Lord.

Abel believed that God would provide for him. He knew that everything he had was a gift from God and in gratitude and faith he gave his very best to the Lord as his offering. Cain’s offering was unremarkable. He gave something, but by the description of his offering we have no indication that it was his very best. It’s a giving that is more reluctant than that which is motivated by faith. It’s a willingness to offer something to God because one knows that they probably should, but in that giving the person “hedges their bets,” and makes sure to keep the best for themselves.  It’s the difference between giving cheerfully, the giving that God loves, or giving reluctantly out of a motive of compulsion, which God has no regard for (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). 

Prayer, another form of worship, can be done with both good and bad motives as well. Some people pray not because they are confident that God sees them and thus are motivated by faith in this unseen One, but because they want others to see them, and be impressed with how good and righteous they are.  Jesus put it like this in Matthew 6:5-6: “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” 

What about you and what about me?  Is our worship truly that which is a demonstration of our faith, or is it all motivated by something else, something which the God we say we worship does not commend.  May God help us to examine our worship to make certain that it’s a worship that is truly borne of faith.