Let's address two worldly mindsets that defy biblical principles.
1. The Cain mindset (Proverbs 19:3): Feeling sad about consequences, not about sin.(1)
Even though God told Cain he didn't have to sin (Genesis 4:6-7), Cain murdered Abel and then felt God shouldn't punish him (Genesis 4:13).
This mindset has existed throughout human history. And modern psychology often promotes it, claiming we do bad things because bad things have been done to us.(2) It's not popular to believe that each of us can choose to do what's right and those who choose evil deserve their consequences/punishment.
2. The Job's friends' mindset: Blaming victims for their difficulties.(3)
On the flip side of the Cain mindset is the Job's friends' mindset. They blamed Job for his sickness and sorrows, even though he wasn't responsible.
Those who have this mindset assume people are always responsible for their problems, even if there's no evidence for such a claim. For example, they would automatically assume that Abel was responsible for his brother's hatred.
If we comfort unrepentant sinners or blame friends for their hardships, we dishonor God. Instead, let's warn unrepentant sinners (Psalm 101:3) and comfort those who are innocently suffering (Romans 12:15).
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(1) See Cain: The Ultimate Pouter and Things That Make Me Sad—Cain.
(2) For years psychology has blamed a plethora of bad behaviors on poor self-esteem. But many are retracting that belief. For example: "Florida State University Professor Roy Baumeister (Ph.D. psychology, Princeton University) has revealed that in a lifetime of study of violent criminals, the one characteristic nearly all these criminals share is high self-esteem." (source) See Research Shows Harms of High Self-Esteem.
(3) See Job’s Judgmental Friends and The First Person Blamed.
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