«　WEEK 1　DAY 3　»

　　Gen. 4:16-17 And Cain went forth from the presence of Jehovah and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden. And…he built a city…

　　20-21 …Jabal…was the father of those who dwell in tents and raise cattle. And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.

　　Cain left the presence of God and went his own way. The first thing he did was to build a city. He produced a culture without God (Gen. 4:16-24). We must realize the source of human culture and the reason for its development. Human culture developed because humanity had lost God. Originally, God, the Creator of man, was everything to man. God was man’s protection, maintenance, supply, joy, amusement, and defense. God was everything. In the garden, man had no need to do anything except to till the ground to cooperate with God. God was everything to man in the garden. However, when man lost God, he lost everything. He lost protection, safeguard, maintenance, supply, and amusement. This loss of God forced him to invent human culture. Because man had lost everything, he had to invent something. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 323-324)

　　Jubal invented music (Gen. 4:21). He invented harps and pipes. In fact, the very name Jubal means “jubilee” or “a joyful sound” or “music.” What is music? Music is a type of amusement which makes people joyful. Why does man need such amusement? Because he has lost God as his joy. God is man’s true enjoyment. A number of times in the past when my friends invited me to attend the movies with them, I said to them, “I don’t need that. I have something much better than your movie.” I do not even need to watch television, for I have a heavenly television. Everything in the New Jerusalem has been televised to me. I can never forget an experience I had when visiting the city of Houston. A friend was taking me on a tour of the city. However, I told him, “As long as I have seen the New Jerusalem, I don’t need to see any earthly city.”

　　One day, in the year 1937, I was preaching the gospel in the capital city of Nanking. It was a good time of preaching, and the gospel was prevailing. After one of the meetings, a smart young lady, dressed in a very worldly and fashionable way, came to me and said, “Mr. Lee, I have been convinced by your preaching. I would even decide to believe in your Jesus. But this decision depends upon one thing. I am a lover of the theater. Tell me, after becoming a Christian, will I still be allowed to attend the theater?”… As I was considering the way to answer her, I looked to the Lord for a wise reply, and He gave me one. I said to this young lady, “You have your young son with you. Suppose that one day he plays with a sharp knife, and you feel that it is dangerous for him to do this. How would you deal with him? Would you force him to drop the knife, or would you grab the knife out of his hand?” She said, “No, I would simply throw some candies or apples on the floor. I’m sure that he would drop the knife and pick up the candies and apples. The knife would be gone because his hands would be filled with better things.” Then I said, “It is exactly the same with you in attending the theater. If you will take Jesus, He will fill you up, and you will have no capacity for anything else.” She said, “Marvelous, I will believe.” Then I told her, “You must do it now.” She replied, “Yes, I will do it now. I believe in the Lord Jesus.” She was saved.

　　The reason I do not attend the movies is not because the church has a regulation against it. The church does not have a list of commandments against such things. However, although there is no such prohibition, I would not attend a movie even if you paid me thousands of dollars to do it. I have something better. I am filled with Christ and I have no capacity for anything else. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 325-327)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Genesis, msg. 24