The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Genesis 4:6-7
Dear members and friends,
The word “sin” is a heavily-loaded word for Christians. Perhaps due to the concept of “original sin”, Christians tend to regard sin as something that is against God and permanently damaging to the soul of the perpetrator. This is somewhat puzzling, because in the book Leviticus we read that God granted the priesthood to Aaron and his sons with the ritual of atonement. This was the removal of all their sins and transgressions, meaning there is no sin that is unremovable, according to the Bible. What makes the matter more interesting comes from the Hebrew word translated as “sin,” chatta’ah, which is noun. Chatta’ah is from a verb, chata’, meaning “to miss,” or “to lead astray.” Thus, if I may put the meaning of chatta’ah in English, it should mean “missing the mark” or “being led astray.” What this means is that initially, chatta’ah was not understood as how we currently feel when we speak the word “sin.”
What we must also remember is the context in which God used the word chatta’ah. It is written in Genesis 4, “If you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door.” Thus, it is conditional and essentially depends on how we do it. In other words, the choice is still in our hands. Further, God emphasized, “its desire is for you, but you must master it.” The Hebrew word for master is mashal, meaning “to rule” or “to govern.” What it means is that even if we made a wrong choice, and thus “sin is lurking at the door,” we still have a chance (or choice) of ruling over it. In other words, God has empowered us from the beginning with the capacity necessary to be mindful of what is arising within our minds and maneuver our feelings and desires.
My brothers and sisters in God, let us take a moment of meditation this week. Let us quiet our mind down from all fear, worry, and anxiety. Then, let us take the word of God into our hearts, “you must master it!”
Blessings,
Rev. Junchol Lee