"I DID IT MY WAY"
Genesis 4:3-5
So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. 4 Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering; 5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.
At least 2 or 3 times a year I come across wolves here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Today there is an abundance of wolves, when 25 years ago there were none.
In many areas of Michigan's Upper Peninsula the deer have all but become extinct, and wolves are one of the main causes. Our state and federal governments have handcuffed the sportsmen and women from managing the wolf population. Many hunters have taken matters into their own hands.
I have to admit when I've seen wolves, I have been tempted to do the same... but knowing the law I've not been able to do it. Even though I wanted to do it "my way"... I knew it wasn't God's way, when there were laws against it.
In Genesis we learn of the offering of Cain and Abel. We read that Abel did what God had asked, he brought his very best, his firstborn calf and the fattest before the Lord as a sacrifice, while Cain brought "the fruit of the ground". There is special mention of the quality of Abel's offering and no mention of the quality of Cain's. Could this be the reason that God didn't accept Cain's sacrifice? Or could it be the heart and attitude of the one bringing the sacrifice?
There is an assumption that somewhere, sometime prior to this story, God gave instructions on what the sacrifice should be. The blood spilled from the sacrifice would be representative of the blood spilled by Christ for our sins.
Whatever God's reason for not accepting Cain's offering, it is clear that it was because Cain did it his own way and not God's way.
Similar to what happened when I considered taking a few wolves out. I've prayed that what my own selfish desire is, would not happen and that God would remove my desire to have it "my way". I prayed that God's way would prevail.
There is a way of doing things today that's totally off track with what God actually wants of us. Humanism is doing things our way instead of God's way. We take our own feelings, desires and beliefs into account to make choices that we should be looking to God for.
I've learned that when I take things in my own hands and in my own sinful heart and do it "my way"... I pay a price. I might get by for a while, but in the end there is a price to pay when I do it "my way".
Several decades ago Frank Sinatra sang a song that became a hit that has lasted as an iconic piece of music since. "My Way" is really a sad song. Verse five says this...
"For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels and not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows and did it my way
Yes, it was my way"
Unfortunately, if we only have ourselves, we truly have nothing. If we don't have Christ, we may live a life of pleasure, but it is empty and in the end it leads to eternal separation from God. When we choose to do it "my way" instead of God's way, we miss out on so many blessings and an eternity in His presence.
Isaiah 53:6: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all"
I never considered the words of "My Way" before until I nearly, actually did it "my way". I would have paid a terrible price.
As we come to decisions in life to do it our way or God's way, choose wisely... the consequences for choosing "my way" could cost us more than we can afford to pay.
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