Genesis 25:27-28:5

Think

Genesis 25:30-31, "He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom). Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."

Genesis 25:34, "Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So, Esau despised his birthright."

Can you imagine being so hungry that you'd trade your entire multi-billion-dollar inheritance for a meal? Sounds crazy, right? But that's exactly what happened to Esau.

Esau had been out hunting all day and came home empty-handed. He was famished, smelled bean stew, and wanted some. Jacob agreed, but his agreement came with a major caveat: Esau would have to give up his birthright as the firstborn son. Esau was so desperate to temporarily satisfy his hunger that he altered the entire course of his life for immediate gratification.

Imagine what Esau felt when he finished his dinner, only to be hit with the reality that he traded his future for a bowl of beans. Literally!

What is your bowl of beans? What are you trading your future for on the altar of the immediate? Addiction, pride, lust, popularity, self-importance? No temporary fix is worth losing the life of blessing God wants you to live.

Act

Pray

Heavenly Father, Help me see where I am choosing the immediate over the eternal, where I am fulfilling my own desires instead of living out Your best for my life. I choose to trust You and Your timing. In Jesus' name, Amen.