A Thought on Jude 11

Cain, Balaam and Korah would fain have taken the place of worshippers and servants of God; but Cain acted in self-will, Balaam sought self-enrichment, Korah’s object was self-exaltation; and all three were rejected.

The, self-willed Cain, became a man of strife, his hand lifted against his brother. Balaam, the self-seeking man, became a man of guile, glibly boasting his incorruptibility while inwardly coveting the wages of unrighteousness. Korah, the man of self-display, became a false accuser, seeking to cover up his own desire for pre-eminence by accusing better men than himself of precisely the very motives by which he himself was actuated. Thus it is that every “root of bitterness” tends to produce fruit more bitter still.

Well may we pray that from these three insidious sins, self-will, self-seeking and self-display, the Lord in His mercy may deliver all our hearts as we seek to engage in His worship and service.