Two Views, Two Outcomes

Cain and Abel had two very dif­fer­ent views of life. Abel believed that there would always be enough — that God and the uni­verse are gen­er­ous. His sac­ri­fices reflected that basic view. Cain saw it all through the eyes of short­ages and there never being quite enough to go around. His sac­ri­fi­cial offer­ings were cheap and short-sighted. He was also eaten up with jeal­ousy and con­trol issues. He became the first mur­derer on the planet. In God’s generosity, Cain was allowed to live — despite his hor­ri­ble crime. God defended Abel’s view of things to the per­son most unable to grasp it…and God still does that very thing.

The two views are still the two basic approaches to life acted out in diverse ways by every indi­vid­ual on the planet. One believes in a uni­verse of end­less pos­si­bil­i­ties. The other stews in envy, con­trol issues, and imag­ines that there is only so much to go around. One is celebration-based and the other is fear-based. The one express­ing joy also expresses great trust. The duty-driven one is mildly (or even severely) para­noid. For those Cain-like mis­er­able peo­ple, things have to be done to appease an angry deity (cre­ated by their lack of imagination).

Look at the coun­tries expe­ri­enc­ing abun­dance and look at the ones expe­ri­enc­ing short­ages. They have two very dif­fer­ent views of real­ity and are in the midst of two very dif­fer­ent out­comes. The pol­i­tics of pseudo-equality quickly lead to long lines for stingy goods and ser­vices. The less con­trolled and freer envi­ron­ments may have some inequities, but they live in a sea of abun­dance. The pol­i­tics of basic trust feeds a world and sends peo­ple to the moon. The pol­i­tics of envy will fight over the last morsel of bread.

Misers are mis­er­able. Investors are “real­ity surfers” that enjoy the risks and the rewards. They build and cre­ate. They dream and expend their ener­gies as visionaries. Their uni­verse is mag­nif­i­cent. The “Cains” are unable to see past their own front door. It is all about the heart. Is it bent toward cel­e­bra­tion or envy? The Prodi­gal Son came home to a cel­e­bra­tion unde­served. His par­si­mo­nious brother sat in the cor­ner feel­ing resent­ful. The Gen­er­ous Father did not count the losses but the return of the one thing that mat­tered most — a wiser human being.