God mentioned sin for the first time in Genesis 4:7: Speaking to Cain God said, “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 master it.”
Most of us limit our understanding of sin to something we do. However, sin is more than something we do. Please note that God refers to sin as “it”, that is, a dynamic spiritual entity (spirit) which desired to have Cain.
I am reminded that the expression “it desires to have you” actually means stealing -what sin desires to have does not belong to it. Simply put, sin having Cain meant having (stealing) everything Cain had and stood for. Accordingly, Cain had no choice but to master (resist) it, which he failed to do, unfortunately, like most of us… God help us.
Sin is more than something a human being does. See, for example, Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned”.
Allow me to pick only one relevant thought from this verse, namely, that sin entered the world through one man (Adam).
It means that (1) Man was in the world before sin entered it, and, it implies that (2) sin existed before man was placed in the world. Interestingly, Man provided sin the opportunity to enter the world by his action and sin brought death with it. Similarly, God warned Cain to not fail to do what is right because sin was crouching at his door waiting for him to do what is not right so that it could have him.
Whilst most of us limit our understanding of sin to doing wrong, we find the bible reminding us that doing wrong gives sin (a spiritual entity) opportunity (open the door to sin) to enter our world in order to have us and, sadly, sin has an inseparable twin named death. Sin never comes alone.
I strongly believe that something dies in one’s life every time he/she fails to do what is right and is not quick to repent. Please note that confession is not the same as repentance. Confession is the act of acknowledging one’s sin(s) before God and asking for forgiveness. Repentance, on the other hand, is the act of turning away from specific sin (selfishness), or what is not right, to doing the will of God, or what is right. Repentance denies sin any claim over the life of the one who fails to do what is right.
I pray that you pause next time you are tempted to do what is not right and understand that a lot more is at stake than you think. Sin is always crouching at your door desiring to have you. May the Lord grant you always the grace to master it as you call on Him, in Jesus Christ name!
