Christian Living

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The Criminal Element

The word crime as defined in the Collins English Dictionary Discovery Edition is an act prohibited and punished by law. A criminal is a person guilty of a crime. The word crime or criminal is one of the most hated words heard in basically all spheres of society worldwide, though it has been with us from the beginning of time. The purpose of this article is to examine the origin, mindset, component and the complexity of managing the criminal element in any society from a Biblical point of view.

The very first criminal act recorded as we know it today is murder found in the book of Genesis chapter 4 verse 8 “ And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Able his brother, and slew him.” The reason for this crime committed by Cain was jealousy. Genesis chapter 4 verse 2 states that, “And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Able and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell”. God in his infinite wisdom knew what was about to take place and before Cain killed Abel, he was warned in Genesis chapter 4 verse 6- 7, “And the Lord said unto Cain why art thou worth? And why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shall thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him”. This was a clear sign of pre-meditated murder by Cain after having been warned. This is what is happening today and in time past, our criminals are allowing sin to lie at their door and not wanting to do what is right.

How and why did this scourge of criminal element come about? After Cain killed his brother Abel, God said to Cain in Genesis chapter 4 verses 10-11-12, “And he said, what hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand. When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shall thou be in the earth.” My brothers and sisters, from that day this curse was passed down through the generations world wide as we see the vagabonds and the fugitives evading justice in every country having committed criminal offences.

In the book of Exodus, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments for us to live by and to govern ourselves according to His will as we live on this earth. Many of the laws and constitutions which are legislated worldwide are derived from the Ten Commandments to govern their citizens and for their rights to be protected. There is a feature in the criminal element when these laws are broken that is normally seen daily. This is an act of denial. Alleged offenders go before the courts daily and on many occasions pleading not guilty knowing they have committed the crime for which they are charged. Although this is a Constitutional right, many wonder where this act of denial stemmed from. The book of Genesis chapter 4 verse 9 “And the Lord said unto Cain, where is Abel thy brother? And he said I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” The mindset of a criminal in most cases is, if the alleged crime cannot be proven through evidence in a court of law or otherwise then they are innocent. This is another trait passed down through the descendant of Cain after killing his brother Abel.


Any act of a criminal nature is hated by most law abiding citizens world-wide. However, there is a high degree of concern for the rights and privilege for these criminal elements from a sector of the wider community after these allege criminals have caused pain and grief to many even after they are convicted by a court of law. The question is why are so many groups of persons willing to assist criminals after they have committed a criminal act? For example, defense Lawyers, human rights activists and of course, mothers who cry for their good sons/daughters. Other constitutional leniency given through the courts for offenders are; granting of bail, appeals, stay of executions, prerogative of mercy boards and in the lenient sentencing of convicted persons. Apart from this being a constitutional right by law for the offender on earth, there is also a spiritual intervention from God in a Biblical perspective.

When God placed that curse on Cain for killing his brother Abel, Cain could foresee the hate that law abiding people would have against him on earth for being the fugitive and the vagabond that he was. Genesis chapter 4 verse 13 states, “And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth: and from thy face shall I be hid: and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth: and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him shall kill him.” This scripture coincide with the scripture in Romans chapter 12 verse19 which says, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Here we have this spiritual intervention on behalf of criminals that in many instances prevent law abiding citizens from killing many of them in the world today. This spiritual intervention does not negate nor prevent the laws of the land from being executed to the fullest extent.



The harsh reality of the compassion for the criminal element is that many of them are aware of their rights and privileges granted to them by the constitution and portions of society. In many instances, it is played as a game. Some criminals are making it a career for survival, while their victims are left to suffer and communities crying out in a rage wondering what will happen next.

Having viewed the elements of crime and criminal elements along with the various protective components they are armed with, we now see the complexity in managing this world wide curse. Each law abiding citizen know of some family member or friend who is plagued with this curse. We must realize that this curse can be broken through repentance from the criminal and that we as law abiding citizens are the majority on this earth. It would have to take a collective, disciplined body of individuals to control and manage this curse. This war has to be fought from two fronts which is constitutional (judiciary) and the power of prayer (spiritual). Only then can we see some positive results in controlling this curse. May God continue to protect us all.


Roderick R. McKenzie Sr.
[email protected]

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