The cost of Indifference

Genesis 25: 29-34 -  Once when Jacob was boiling pottage, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished.  And Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red pottage, for I am famished!" (Therefore his name was called Edom.)  Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright."  Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?" Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.  Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Sometimes we want something so badly…we let our want of it twist our perspective.  The choice we make in this moment of want…this passion to have something so badly makes what we trade for it seem unimportant …less valuable.  The lack of concern of Esau in this moment….the moment he allows extreme hunger to override his ability to think about the future consequences of such a decision…cost him way more than he bargained for.  God does not stop Jacob….instead he allows the natural consequences of Esau’s actions to be recorded …to teach us a valuable lesson…a lesson about indifference.

It was obvious to me just what God was trying to teach me…I too have been an ‘Esau’ many times in my 53 years.  The last car I bought was purchased with way to high an interest rate….I remember telling myself that I had to have it….even though the Taurus I drove was  working fine.  There is a very expensive heart shaped diamond ring…trapped in the dash of my van somewhere …that I don’t even get to enjoy…bought on a payment plan that raised the price way higher than the ring was valued. And I could list the few credit cards I own…justified because I needed to build my credit rating back after the financial damage the divorce caused. I rent…because I remember the time I had a mortgage in my first marriage…the payments we made to invest in this first home….did not bring one penny of profit.

Sometimes we don’t see the value of something we have…and we sell it for stew. The immediate pleasure often fades as the poor choice we made presents consequences we did not think about at the time. Then Satan takes that small bit of indifference and he multiplies it to other areas of our lives…and we sell way more of our heart to the world …and begin to miss the great blessings of God. We become Esau’s…selling the birthright we all have in the death of his son on the cross…for some insignificant pleasure that only lasts for a short time.

Father…thank you for the reminder that I need to constantly guard against the indifference of the world around me.  Help me to hold your promise of love and hope for the future so tight in my heart that I learn to say no to the immediate pleasures that might eventually cause my relationship with you to grow cold.  Forgive me Lord for the times I have sinned this way…and bring them back to my mind when Satan tries to trick me that way again.  Draw me even closer to you…and help me invest in your kingdom…help me to use what you have given me to tell others about the great gift of life your san gave us all. Amen.