OUR PRIORITIES
Today's reading: Genesis 4-7

"Cain replied to the Lord, My punishment is too great for me to bear! You have banished me from my land and from your presence; you have made me a wandering fugitive. All who see me will try to kill me." Genesis 4:13 NLT

I'd never noticed it before.

I've read the verse numerous times, but had never seen it.

In Cain's response to the Lord's punishment, you see Cain's heart.

The darkness of it. The twisted nature of it. The wrong priorities in it.

Do you see it?

He first mentions that God has banished him from 'his' land.

The land God had made. The land God had given him. The land that had, up until that point, produced a crop with little to no effort.

And then, only after stating what he believed he was entitled to, he mentions that he is sorrowful to hear he will be separated from God's presence.

His priorities are askew.

What's most important to him came to the forefront.

What mattered most in his heart was listed first--secondary things were added on the back of that list.

What about us?

Is God, and being in His presence, a priority to us?

Is it our only purpose for living, our reason for going on in life, is it what we live and breath for?

All else should be conveniences.