"I WANT IT NOW!"

 

"And Jacob said, 'First swear to me'; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.  Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way.   Thus Esau despised his birthright."--Genesis 25:33-34.  At this point in Genesis, Abraham's son Isaac has married Rebekah.  In Genesis 25:1-11, we read of the death of Abraham and in verses 19-34 we read the beginnings of Jacob who would later be known as Israel giving rise to the Israelite nation as we know it even today and then his twin brother Esau who would give rise to the nation of Edom.  The account here is interesting yet tragic because Esau gives up his whole inheritance for a bowl of soup.  What Esau wanted in this account was instant gratification.

Instant gratification.  This is a concept we are all probably familiar with.  When we want something we want it now and sometimes we don't care what it might cost us.  While Jacob and Esau were twins, Esau actually came out first (v. 25) so Esau was older than Jacob.  It was said of the twins when they were born, that "the older shall serve the younger." (v. 23).  Esau was a hunter while Jacob lived in tents.  Esau had come in from hunting and was "famished." (v. 29).  He needed food, he needed it now. But at what expense?

Instant gratification.  When looking at this account, one has to realize that what Jacob did was pretty manipulative.  Jacob would live this sort of lifestyle until God would put him in his place in Genesis 32. But Esau still had a choice in the matter and he chose instant gratification giving up his whole inheritance for a bowl of soup.  The word despised used in this passage can also mean cursed. Esau cursed his inheritance for a bowl of soup.

Instant gratification.  Hebrews 12:16 condemns Esau for this act saying "that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal" (the word single supplied by translators).

Instant gratification.  What does this mean to us? We have an eternal inheritance as Christians. Would we sacrifice that for maybe a little bit of pleasure? What we need to realize is that all it takes is one moment of compromise to lose our eternal inheritance.  Can we really afford to lose everything God has in store for us because of a "single meal"?

My encouragement for you is this.  If you are struggling with a particular sin, no matter how small or big, ask yourself if it's really worth it to risk losing eternity just for another day of the momentary pleasure that sin brings? Instant gratification can mean an instant loss of eternity with God in heaven.  Galatians 5:19-21 is a good description of the acts of the sinful nature. I encourage you to read that passage this week.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!