Last week, John R. Coats wrote a nice piece called “Five Lessons from Genesis (About Being Human) That Still Apply Today.” There are some great insights, and I loved the way Coats took an ancient text and made it understandable and relevant for current times. For Cliff Notes aficionados, here are the lessons:

1. Nursing anger is a fool’s game: Cain.
2. You reap what you sow, and that thing you want more than anything might arrive with more than you bargained for: Jacob.
3. There are people who just don’t get it (and never will): Laban.
4. Even though Mommy and Daddy say it’s not you, if everyone else hates your guts, it’s probably you: Joseph.
5. There are certain experiences that we humans are not designed for: post-flood Noah and his family.