This past week we talked about the decision Esau made to sell his birthright and how that affected not only his life, but countless generations to follow. "Ten years from now" is the context we view our lives when we consider "What is our bowl of stew." In other words, am I willing to trade God's plans, blessings, and future for my life for a temporal bowl of stew that is placed in front of me. Although Esau didn't know exactly what his future held, certainly he would have been told about God's promises to Abraham. Yet, he traded all that away for the immediate satisfaction of a bowl of stew. Remember our discsussion about the promises of God and how they apply to us? Will you turn from those in order to taste a temporary pleasure?
Our appetites apply to much more than food. Power, respect, love, recognition, acceptance, things (women's shoes) are all areas which can become inflamed and cause us to turn away from God's promises for temporal satisfaction. Let's encourage one another to keep God's overall context for our lives in focus as we stand firm against trials and temptations.
Austin reminded me just how much our food appetites can affect us; remember the Betty White video? Ah.... the pleasure of a Snicker bar....!
2 comments:
Still thinking on last wek's lesson. I was moved to think about what non-Christians and the world are willing to give up for their appetites and how we differ. Today, at work, I found out that I have a student whose parents have conveyed that they have no concern for her grades (despite the fact that she is one of my best students). Another told me that his family celebrates no holidays or birthdays. While my heart was breaking for these kids, I marvelled at the selfishness of their parents. I began to wonder if today the world would celebrate Esau for his "wise" choice. How many times have we heard the "You deserve this, indulge" message? Is the story of Jacob and Esau about the human condition and the nature of sin? Did Esau's decision typify where we are as a society today? And my goodness, how can I avoid the same pitfalls?
I was just pretending to do work, but actually goofing off. I typed in Jacob & Esau into Youtube and found this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1ZdrHnMknQ Since I was addicted to Lost (yeah, I get the irony regarding appetites) I googled the Jacob and Esau connection in Lost and found this http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Jacob/Theories For those of you who watched Lost, I thought you'd be interested. There are other interesting sites out there too. (I'm not going to get any work done tonight.)
Post a Comment