There is a story in the Old Testament about two brothers
named Jacob and Esau. Their relationship, like most brothers, was turbulent.
One day Esau was out hunting. He had been out of the house for an extended
period of time. When he returned he was hungry—really hungry. In fact, the
bible uses the term “famished”. To his delight, he finds his brother, Jacob,
cooking lentil soup. Like any brother, Jacob won’t give Esau any soup without
getting something in return. What he asks for however, is shocking—he asks for
Esau’s birthright. Even more shocking though, is that Esau actually agrees to exchange
his birthright for a bowl of soup.
We don’t appreciate the significance of a Hebrew birthright
in our American culture today. I decided to do some research and found that a
birthright in ancient Hebrew culture was a pretty big deal. It was only given
to the firstborn son. It included a double portion of the father’s estate as
well as leadership of the family. For most Hebrew sons, this would be a large
inheritance. It was also a huge honor. I don’t know about you, but that is not
something I would give up for a bowl of soup no matter how hungry I was.
As New Testament believers we are told in Romans 8:17 that
we are heirs of God. In other words, we are the rightful beneficiaries of God’s
estate. Now, this could be an entire teaching in and of itself, but suffice it
to say that we have full access to God’s resources—provision, health, peace,
etc. as His children. That’s huge!
Now back to Esau. His story is really one of instant
gratification. It is doubtless that he could have rounded up some vittles
himself, even if only a piece of bread, to prevent his seemingly imminent starvation.
Yet, his immediate need seemed so great that he was willing to give up his
inheritance for a bowl of soup. It makes me think how often we do this as
believers. In the moment of our temptation, when we feel like we are going to
die if we don’t have [fill in the blank], we trade all that God has provided
for a fleeting pleasure—a quick fix.
I think we often don’t realize how costly instant
gratification is. It is the very bedrock of our culture; we are inundated with
it on a regular and consistent basis. Yet, it is not the way of the Kingdom.
