If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
God speaks to Cain and encourages him to take control of his life. Then Cain murders his brother Abel.
That is perhaps the last thing any of us wants to hear when we are seeking validation. There is a very human desire to be accepted. It began with Cain and still we struggle with seeking acceptance by our God.
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
Do our best, once again it appears to be on us to fight off shame. This is about self assurance. Validation seeks approval from others, even God, it is rooted in ego, that drives the psychological part of the human brain that strives to excel.
What is missing between these two verses of scripture is sin. Where we were asked at first to handle sin we are now asked to handle truth.
A healthy ego does not need to be stroked. There is the danger of a healthy ego taking credit for a life lived rather than glorifying God who gave us this life in Christ.
We begin this life in Christ trying to forgive ourselves for all the mistakes we made that led us to needing a savior in the first place. It is about us seeking forgiveness. In Christ we find forgiveness. As we mature love seeks to help others that follow after us in this life in Christ.
Validation switches from self awareness to the success of our disciples. We are asked to make disciples. What happens to validation if we have no disciples?
Allow me to answer that with the same words used by Cain; “Am I my brother’s keeper?”