"You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must control it and be its master."

Genesis 4:7

Cain had some serious issues. You know it and I know it. And God certainly knew it.

Cain was angry (vs 6). Cain was conniving (vs 8). Cain was a liar (vs 9a). Cain was a smart-aleck (vs 9b). Cain was a cry baby (vs 13). and worst of all, Cain was a murderer (vs 8). If there was a prototype for the worst possible version of humanity, Cain certainly fits the bill.

It wasn't like Cain didn't get a Holy head's up, a consecrated caution, a little divine deterrent. God spoke some truth into his life but the guy wasn't ready or perhaps willing to hear it. It's easy to judge him but we certainly give him a run for our money, don't we?

Just like Cain, we also have to face the fact that we often select the darker path. For instance, today is Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras. It's the day before Lent. Traditionally, Fat Tuesday is a day when anything goes because tomorrow we can say we're sorry and start with a clean slate. There are parades, celebrations of debauchery, lot's of skin showing, and every kind of evil. Mardi Gras isn't a single day in the south designed for partying and getting fat, it's really more of a lifestyle.

• We take one last drag from the cigarette before we quit for good (again).
• We have a bachelor's party before we tie the knot.
• Nashville has designed an entire industry of becoming the Bachelorette Party central!
• What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!
• Our diet starts tomorrow...just after I have the rest of this cake.

And the list goes on! Party today. Repent tomorrow. Sin is crouching at your door. It was true for Caleb and it's true for us. As we peer into the season of Lent from this side of Ash Wednesday, we have a choice to make: We can master the sin before us, or allow it to master us.

What if today we chose good over evil? Fasting over Fatness? Faithfulness or failure? What if today we mastered the sin before us?