"We are Cain's children"

“‘People are interested only in themselves. If a story is not about the hearer he will not listen. And I here make a rule-a great and lasting story is about everyone or it will not last. The strange and foreign is not interesting-only the deeply personal and familiar…

'I think this is the best-known story in the world because it is everybody’s story. I think it is the symbol story of the human soul…The greatest terror a child can have is that he is not loved, and rejection is the hell he hears. I think everyone in the world to a large or small extent has felt rejection. And with rejection comes anger, and with anger some kind of crime in revenge for rejection, and with the crime guilt-and there is the story of mankind. I think that if rejection could be amputated, the human would not be what he is. Maybe there would be fewer crazy people. I am sure in myself there would not be many jails. It is all there-the start, the beginning. One child, refused the love he craves, kicks the cat and hides his secret guilt; and another steals so that money will make him loved; and a third conquers the world–and always the guilt and revenge and more guilt. The human is the only guilty animal. Now wait! Therefore I think this old and terrible story is important because it is a chart of the soul-the secret, rejected, guilty soul.’" -East of Eden

East of Eden is one of my favorite books. When I first read this book as a junior in high school, I was drawn in and captivated by Steinbeck’s writing and of course the story, which is ultimately all of ours.

It’s kind of a no-brainer, but Abel did not have any children. As Steinbeck writes, "We are Cain’s children." Guilt and shame are two things that have come up often lately. I find it funny that I’ve been re-reading this book during a time when these are issues I’m really unearthing and diving into. I guess God is really trying to show me something and heal me in the process. Yes, the shame, guilt, and rejection that we feel is all due to the fall of Adam and Eve, but I think the depth of that fall is first fully felt with the story of Cain and Abel. Cain ultimately felt rejection. As people living in a broken world, we feel that rejection each day. I have noticed recently that a lot of my decisions, feelings, and insecurities stem from rejection. Cain’s story is my story. Cain’s story is our story. But it doesn’t end there, and that’s something I’m super thankful for.