“Why are you so angry?, the Lord asked him. ‘Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you respond in the right way. But if you refuse to respond correctly, then watch out! Sin is waiting to attack and destroy you, and you must subdue it.”

I have watched with great intrigue the discussions and debate over the U.S. debt-ceiling. The back and forth and the rhetoric in itself is educational (and sometimes saddening). What is most fascinating to me is how people respond from one situation to another and the importance of even one word as part of a response and how that can reinforce or change the tone of an entire discussion or debate. The same is true in business and as we have all learned, what a CEO says about a company when they are in distress can make the difference between recovery and failure. Carry this inside of the company and how a manager or team leader responds to a challenge, a question, or a problem can become the linchpin for what happens next, good or bad. We need to be sure that we are thoughtful in our responses and do the best we can to think ahead and weigh out the implications of how we respond. Being on the hot seat is not easy work, but weighing the response before we say it is something that we should always be doing.

Cain was challenged by God and God put forth correction and direction to him about how important it is for us weigh our responses before we make them. God gives us the alternative of making the right response, which are the ones that align with His teaching and Word, or taking the alternative path and allowing ourselves to be weighted with sin. When we consider that we have the assurance of being accepted when we do choose the right response, then that should tell us all we need. Today, we each will be faced with tens, if not hundreds, of times that we must respond. Let’s pray into this day, and week, that when we weigh our responses, that we weight them to the way of the Lord.

Reference: Genesis 4:6-7 (New Living Testament)