Cain and Abel

I recently heard someone relate the story of Cain and Abel and as they began to explain it and tried to apply it to real world comparisons, I found they deeply misunderstood it. 

For those that are unfamiliar with the story you can find it in Genesis Chapter 4. In the story the sons of Adam were commanded to make sacrifice to the Lord. Abel made Sacrifice of the firstlings of his flocks and Cain made sacrifice of the fruits of the ground. The Lord accepts Abel’s sacrifice while rejecting Cains. Why did Cains sacrifice get rejected? Under Levitical law grain sacrifice is acceptable but Cain’s was not. If we read 1 John 3:11-16 we read: 

11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

We can gather from this reading and other sources that it wasn’t the type of offering that was rejected but the spirit with which Cain offers it. Cain could have humbled himself and made an offering to the Lord in love but instead in his pride continued down the destructive path of hate and murdered his brother. 

The lesson to take is that it is important to have the correct spirit with an action as the action taken. With the Love of others should be the center of all we do. While not the only motivators out there love and hate are powerful. I’ve been finding those that are motivated by hate find it difficult to understand those motivated by love. They will often attribute different false narratives for while people are really doing what they are doing. They will often call people “haters” that don’t share that motivation. It’s a perverse reflection of what is the actual reality of the situation. All I can say is that we should follow the example of Christ and love one another.

LNC Transparency

Presently, the LNC or any committee has the authority to convene an Executive Session for the following purposes:

• Personnel matters

• Contractual negotiations

• Pending or potential litigation

• Political strategy requiring confidentiality

During these sessions, the Secretary is responsible for recording session occurrence, which are subsequently made available to the public.

However, I believe that a current practice is in breach of the Bylaws and the LNC Policy Manual (https://lpedia.org/w/images/c/c3/LNC_Policy_Manual-Adopted_thru_2024-02-04.pdf) regarding how many LP Committees operate. If you visit the committee’s page on LP.org (https://www.lp.org/lp-committees/), you’ll notice that numerous committees carry a disclaimer stating, “This is a confidential committee that does not have a public email discussion list.” Although this practice isn’t explicitly outlined in the LNC Policy Manual, I’ve been informed that operating as a confidential committee implies perpetual operation under Executive Session conditions. This extends beyond the usual topics for which the Executive Committee convenes Executive Sessions, and there seems to be no documented procedure for transitioning out of this confidentiality. Consequently, by simply carrying out their duties, I argue that each committee member may inadvertently breach this confidentiality.

To rectify this situation, I propose a change in our approach. Committees should only enter Executive Session when it’s necessary to maintain confidentiality. Additionally, committees should occasionally hold public sessions to facilitate public feedback. This adjustment would strike a better balance between confidentiality when required and transparency when it’s not.

Love one another

Today, I found myself reflecting on two particular scriptures: John 13:34-35 and Matthew 22:36-40, which I’ve included below for reference.

John 13:34-35 reads: “I give you a new commandment: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Matthew 22:36-40 states: “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

These passages do not suggest that our love for others should be conditional, dependent on agreement or approval of one’s lifestyle or choices. They call us to love others simply and purely. Often, we impose conditions on our love, but the love Christ demonstrated is unconditional, and we are called to emulate that kind of love.