I was reading the story of Jacob and Esau and became sad when I got to the part about Esau selling his birthright. I thought about how we often sell out things of great value for temporary gains or pleasures. In today’s disposable society, many items seem to hold much less value.
Some are willing to trade time in God’s house for a getting a paycheck. Some will give up time in God’s Word for watching television. Some forfeit sharing the Gospel for time on social media. This list could go on and on, but the point is that we can easily become more concerned about our current situation than our eternal condition. We trade that on which God has placed great value for what the world values more.
In Bible times, a birthright extremely valuable. A birthright is “a particular right of possession or privilege one has from birth, especially as an eldest child, or one born into royalty.” Esau was the oldest of two sons, so the birthright of a double portion of his father’s goods belonged to him. Sadly, he took it for granted, lost sight of its value, and sold it to his brother (Genesis 25:30-34).
When we get saved, we are born into God’s royal family and thus endowed with a birthright. We have been given the right to be heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17; Galatians 3:29), to live free from the guilt and condemnation of sin, and to live in security of eternal life. We have been given such a wonderful inheritance from the riches of our Heavenly Father! If we are not careful though, we can easily become just like Esau and sell our birthright.
To be clear, I am not saying that we can lose our salvation. That is an impossibility because the Bible tell us that once we are saved, we are forever saved (John 10:28). When Esau sold his birthright, he did not lose his standing as Isaac’s son, but rather, he lost the blessings that came with his sonship. We cannot lose our place as a child of God, but we, like Esau, can lose the blessings of that relationship.
In a world where nearly everything is disposable––dishes, clothes, appliances, cars, homes, education, and even marriages––, a birthright can become no different. It is all too easy to offer up our birthright for some worldly gain when not taking time to realize its great worth. After all, we are Heaven bound we get saved; a birthright is not necessary to enter Heaven, so who cares if we sell it?
Esau was willing to trade his birthright to fulfill a physical desire: hunger. When presented with the deal of some bread and pottage of lentils for his birthright, he only saw this temporary value in his birthright and foolishly accepted (Genesis 25:30-34). In that moment, he did not think that this emotional decision would leave him bitter and destroy his relationship with his family; he did not realize what he had given away until it was too late. It certainly was not the last time Esau was ever hungry, but it was the last time he had the fullness of his father’s blessings.
We too may think that trading away our birthright is no big deal. Sure, we do not need it to enter Heaven, but it will make our journey through this life more joyful and productive for the Lord. We can trade it if we want, but at what cost: our peace, joy, happiness, relationships, or more? In addition, what temporary, fleeting thing will we get in return for our trade: fulfillment of a physical desire, financial gain, or maybe temporary happiness? Esau traded his birthright in an emotional decision that cost him dearly. Worth just one meal to him in the moment, that trade cost him so much happiness for the rest of his life. I ask today, “What is your birthright really worth?”
by Crystal Collingsworth
