Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field exhausted. He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I’m exhausted.” That is why he was also named Edom. Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” “Look,” said Esau, “I am about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to Jacob and sold his birthright to him. Then Jacob gave bread and lentil stew to Esau; he ate, drank, got up, and went away. So Esau despised his birthright. 25:29-34
There is much to be said about Jacob’s cunning and deceitfulness in this text, but for this moment I want to focus on Esau. Esau had a very typical attitude of “eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.” I see that all the time in Africa. In fact, when I look at this text I can’t help but think about all the poor trades that my African brothers and sisters have made over the years. In no small way, this cultural perspective is the cause of so many problems for Africa and for the whole world as well.
- Esau focused on the physical and forgot the spiritual: We see that all the time where people are more concerned about caring for the body than the soul. Esau was not concerned about his rights as first born and all the responsibility that came with it. He was only concerned about caring for his physical appetites. I am sure he was exhausted (the NAS says famished) but I doubt he was about to die. Instead, he was thinking about the needs of his body more than the needs of anything related to his soul. Often people think more about how to get a payout today than laying up treasure in heaven.
- Esau focused on the present and forgot the future: He had a “live for today” mentality and what mattered was his needs in the moment, not the future. I see this more and more in America where people are all about living in the moment. It is true that you can’t be consumed with the future and forget the present, but if you don’t prepare for the future then you will one day be sorry. Many of the choices you make today will stay with you forever. This statement sums up the African condition more than any other. The majority of the corruption, poverty and problems that plagues this continent is based on a “survival mentality” that consumes everything today because there is no promise of tomorrow. Few people save, or delay gratification for a future payout. Africans typically revere the past, live in the moment and ignore the future. You likely would too if you didn’t know where tomorrow’s meal was coming from. However, not knowing where tomorrow’s meal will come from is often caused by not preparing well for tomorrow. There is a balance we all need to strike because God is outside of time and Lord of all of it, and truly our future is in His hands. Yet, here we see this downward cycle where poverty causes a “live for the moment” mentality, which in turn begets more poverty. After hundreds of years of assistance and billions of dollars in aid the problems and cycles still persist. More money in the present is not the answer.
- Esau treated Holy things as Common: My third observation (because you know preachers have to think in threes 😊) is that Esau really never understood the importance of his birthright. In that culture he made a decision to give up all the rights and privileges of the first born (and all who would come after him in his line) because he never really understood the value of who he was or what he had. I see people around the world make that trade every day. Not necessarily with birthright, but with so many other valuable things. Teenagers give away their virginity without realizing how precious or important that is. People make decisions today that effect their children tomorrow, they make choices and expose their minds to things that can’t be unseen or unheard. We don’t realize how valuable our health, our holiness, or our integrity is until its gone. All of these gifts God have given us must be guarded, but all to often we have a cavalier attitude with the holy things of God and we realize too late that we have wasted our time, our talents and our very selves on the altar of personal desire. Let’s learn from Esau and be smarter than that.
