Cain and Abel – a character and motivation analysis.
by
Melanie Borges Martins
The biblical story of Cain and his brother Abel is known as the first capital crime thriller on earth. The connection between them and their supervisor God sheds light on human
profiles, on characters and their individual motivation, the question about ability and talent and social acceptance.
The names of the two brothers remind me of the words “can” for Cain and “able” for Abel. While Cain was someone who “could”, but who should not have done what he did do to his brother Abel, Abel
was not only talented enough but also “able” to do what he could do. And thus, his work was acceptable to the Lord.
I am pointing out at this stage, that neither Cain nor Abel have anything to do with me or with my family. Because we are NOT jealous of each other. We support each other, even if we do not meet.
Actually, I do not really know the jealous feeling. I am satisfied with what I have and with who I am.
I guess that Cain was very sad that his offering was not acceptable to God due to his awkward (and apparently more than mean) behaviour. Other than Abel’s offering. Abel who was not only talented
but also “enabled” to do what he could. Why? I guess the reason is that God saw his pure heart and his impeccable character.
And his taintless motivation. I have been watching this kind of behaviour in business. As a manager, we support our team members, we promote them and we talk good of them, so they can rise and
shine. Even if that means that in the end we must step back.
If you are the Abel type of guy you can make it anywhere else – even in New York. #Forgiveness is key. The Abel kind of guy knows that. Or knew it. As long as he lived, that is.
Source: The Bible, Genesis 4, Verses 1 – 16.