Natures are not Neutral
Good versus evil. Darkness versus light. Righteous versus wicked. Is it really that simple? As Pastor Ben pointed out in Sunday’s sermon, we don’t live like it is. We create grey areas to suit our comfort level. This neutral zone is neither good nor evil and this third category works because save for the obvious examples like Hitler, serial killers and pedophiles, it’s easy for us to believe that few fall into the evil category. In the same way, we can easily believe that few are truly righteous, so we tend to think of most people somewhere in the middle.
But how does God see it? Have you noticed there is very little grey area in the Bible? When we get to heaven, we will hear one of two things… “well done good and faithful servant” or “away from me, I never knew you”. “Close enough” is not an option.
To further illustrate this point, the book of Revelation describes the church in Laodicea as “lukewarm, neither hot nor cold.” Jesus has no use for this in-between state. Revelation 3:15-17 records His words of reproof.
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
Playing the middle is something with which we are far too comfortable, though we may not even realize we’re doing it. Many of our actions appear neutral, neither wicked nor good, but our hearts tell the story. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart and through that lens, nothing is neutral and our true natures are revealed.
Take Cain and Abel. They each made sacrifices, Cain from the fruit of the ground and Abel from the firstlings of his flock. The Lord was pleased with Abel’s sacrifice but not with Cain’s. Offering fruit instead of flock wouldn’t seem to carry a distinction between righteousness and wickedness but consider how the brothers are characterized in 1 John 3:12...
“… Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.”
Cain’s works were considered “evil” even before he killed his brother and there is nothing else in scripture to illustrate his works other than the sacrifice. What made that act evil when at face value it seems so benign? Hebrews 11:4 sheds light. As Pastor Ben shared, it is the heart that renders us wicked or righteous. Nothing is neutral because our motivations give our actions true meaning. It was Abel’s faith that made his sacrifice righteous.
“By faith, Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous…”
Cain and Abel became the prototypes for good and evil, righteousness and wickedness. The line of Cain was cursed, and the line of Abel would one day yield the chosen people and the Messiah Himself. When we’re tempted to create a grey area between the two, we must remember that God ordains it much simpler.
~ Melissa Gibbs has been a member of LIFE Fellowship for over 10 years, is the mother to four boys and widow of the late JD Gibbs. She also is a founding board member of Ambassador Christian School.