Genesis 25:28-34
Sometimes a bad decision can cause us to sacrifice our entire future for the pleasure of a given moment. At the time, it may seem like the right thing. But when it's too late, we look back and wish our decision had been wiser.
Esau sacrificed his birthright—wealth and inheritance, position and prominence, power and the right to reign over the entire family—for a bowl of stew. He could have prepared something else to eat. But he wanted what he wanted, and he wanted it now.
Is there a "bowl of stew" in your life—something you want badly that's right in front of you, there for the taking? At the moment, it may seem reasonable to disregard the valuable things in your life in favor of something with little or no worth.
We sacrifice our future for the moment when we are ruled by fleshly appetites rather than by the Holy Spirit. Appetites are God-given, but they are meant to be controlled. We have grown up as a generation of individuals who have seen that whatever we want, we can have it now. We can have almost anything in life if we are willing to pay the price.
That's what caused Esau to lose his future. He wanted to gratify his appetite immediately, and at the time, he was willing to pay the price.
We sacrifice our future for the present when we focus on the temporary instead of the eternal. What are you tampering with right now that could cost you your future? Is it worth it? Ask God to help you see your situation from His perspective.
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Charles Frazier Stanley was born September 25, 1932, in the small town of Dry Fork, Virginia. The only child of Charley and Rebecca Stanley, Charles came into the world during a time when the entire nation felt the grip of the Great Depression. To make matters worse, just nine months later, his father Charley died at the young age of 29.
However, Charles refused to let the Great Depression or the difficulties of his life define him. Instead, like his father and grandfather before him, he clung to God’s Word and took up the mantle to preach the gospel to whoever would listen.
Dr. Stanley’s motivation is best represented by the truth found in Acts 20:24, “Life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about God's mighty kindness and love.” This is because, as he says, “It is the Word of God and the work of God that changes people’s lives.”
Dr. Stanley’s teachings can be heard weekly at First Baptist Church Atlanta, daily on “In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley” radio and television broadcasts on more than 2,800 stations around the world, on the Internet at intouch.org, through the In Touch Messenger, and in the monthly, award-winning In Touch magazine.