Raising Cain

When, as children, and when we misbehaved, Dad said something to the effect that he was "raising Cain". Of course, I thought he meant raising cane, and it just made me wonder how so! But, it was surely "I'm raising Cain, and I don't like that!"

Just for the record, Cain misbehaved. He was a selfish young brat. We think of him as an middle-aged man but sacred writings reveal he was a mere pubescent child. Better than most children today, Cain was somewhat responsible, being the grower of grain.  Cain is symbolic of all mankind who were born after the fall. Indeed, I strongly suspect that, like David (Psalm 51), Cain was "born in iniquity". 

"Born in iniquity," I believe has a two-fold meaning: (1) born after the fall of Adam and Eve, thus born to sin, and (2) accidental pro-creation when the focus was on pleasure rather than multiplication. It is noted that the two were commanded to "multiply" (Gen 1:22) as one of their two commands; the other being to "dress and keep the Garden" (Gen 2:15). God said nothing of having pleasure!

I base this on something in addition to my hunch:

Gen 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.

Cain's conception was outside the Garden, and was done in sin - after the eating of the forbidden tree. Likewise, Eve was said to have exclaimed, "I have gotten a man through (an angel of) the Lord." (The Legends of the Jews Vol I : "The Ten Generations - The Birth of Cain"). The angel was said to be one named Samuel. Since scripture says that "Adam knew Eve his wife", the angel physically had nothing to do with it, but if a dark angel, he may have instigated the pleasure.  My point is that Adam and Eve may have multiplied for the wrong reason - to have pleasure rather than obliging God. After all his children were born, writings say, Adam abstained from further intercourse.

Let me repeat: ancient sacred writings are not canon. They are, however, considered to be ancient commentary. They may be valid, but may not be. I use it to build my case because it matches my hunches which I've had for years. Take it for what it is!

The story of Cain is a story of us. He was the first person born in sin, the first person to willingly sin (without deception), the first person to be selfish with God, the first person to hate his brother, the first person to murder, the first person to lie, the first person to defy his parent's teachings, the first person to covet (envy Abel), the first person to break all the commandments, it seems! Adam and Eve broke one and "died". Cain broke all the commandments before they were written, but by grace he still had the same chance to live. Cain's sin was equal to Adam's. Ten is equal to one. Scripture supports that notion (Jas 2:10).

When Eve said "I have gotten a man from the Lord," not from an angel of the Lord but "the Lord". It seems the angel, a demon, infected Cain although Adam and Eve brought him up in the way of the Lord:

Prov 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

One should ask, what is the way he should go? The answer lies in scripture:

Gen 18:18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

The way children shall go is "the way of the Lord" which was what John the Baptist did:

Mat 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

The "way of the Lord" is the Way of Jesus! The "way our children should go", therefore, is the Way of Jesus! 

Now let's get down to serious business! I'm somewhat guilty of this since I never set the example for my children as well as I should. I took them to church three times a week but although I knew "the Way", I relied on the preacher to preach to them. In other words, they were not instructed in the way of the Lord but preached at! "The Way of the Lord" is a daily walk with Jesus. We only walked with Jesus, and just a little walk, three times a week.

My first shortcoming in life is the Cain in me. My second shortcoming in life is "raising Cain" with my children. 

1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. 11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

This scripture reinforces my hunch: that Cain was born in sin because the "angel' Samuel encouraged pleasure rather than obedience.  Jesus's way was to "destroy the works of the devil". As such, everything we do must be done the right way and for the right reasons. Of course, they are all loved the same, but my eldest was conceived in sin. Some "angel" encouraged me to know my Eve without Holy Matrimony. I love my eldest but he has always been my Cain. I pray for him more than the others because when he is forgiven, and because his sins are greater, he will be forgiven more (Luke 7:47).

It's my fault that my own sin was passed down. That happens you know - to the third and fourth generations (Exod 34:7). It's not the actual sins which are passed down but sinful behavior. My children inherited the consequences of my own sin. We know that David's son died because of David's sin, and yours and mine may as well.

Are you raising your children correctly? It's too late for me because the damage is done. I brought them up partially in the way of the Lord, and all three have thanked me for that. However, it wasn't by example but by strong rules, the rod, and preaching at them. I did tell them the "way they should go" and even took them to the entrance to the Way - the Lord's house. I like to think that I did my part but I failed them and God. I feel regret, remorse, and responsible for not doing better.

On the other hand, I did not bring them up in the way of demons. As the seed of Eve who is the mother of man, Satan is as Prince of the Air, the father of natural-born children.  Original sin is raising Cains.  Our offspring is much more like Cain than Abel because the father of all is Satan. The new birth is adoption by God as we are emancipated from existence as children of Satan.

Rom 9:8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

Whose children are we raising? Are we raising Jesus's or are we raising Cain's?

If we are permissive to our children, we are raising Cain's. If we appease our children's every whim, we are raising Cain's. If we provide continual pleasure to our children, we are raising Cain's. If we allow disrespect, we are raising Cain's. If we fail to punish disobedience, we are raising Cain's. If we don't teach and mentor the way, we are raising Cain's. If we overindulge our children, thus creating little gods, we are raising Cain's. You get the idea; if we treat our children as if they are gods, they will indeed think they are gods! That is Cain's way. 

In this day and age, I see many more like Cain than like Jesus. They break every command that can be broken, yet parents still condone their behavior. God doesn't! Those who don't train their children up in the Way of the Lord, create many Cain's. Society, just like my Dad inferred, is "raising Cain".

How we train our children up is passed down from generation to generation. If we raise Cains now, our seed will belong to Cain. Not only does training a child up in the Way of the Lord benefit the child but your grandchildren and grandchildren's children.

When we look at weak parenting, we see a generation of rebellious children. Then we see the same in the next generation, and the next. Sin seems to be genetic, and guess what? It is! There is a rut which traps the family. It's sort of a spiritual psychosis. As each generation passes, the next gets even more spiritually sick until the sickness crests. Someday God will say, enough of this! It will be a great and terrible day. We are reaching that time.