The folly of Esau as he sold his birthright for a simple bowl of lentil soup. Most of us look at the story and say “dude, your heritage for a bowl of soup??” You may ask how much lower can a human being stoop? Believe me, we do stoop much lower than this as a people, and our secrets everyone they may spook. There are situations when we pray and ask God to guide us and God being God only guides and points out the way without forcing us into it. After praying for a sign, yet that sign we still ignore and we do what is clearly wrong and this to be wrong we always know. Thereafter comes a life of regrets and “what ifs”. What if I followed the way of the Lord and not followed my base passions? What if I had not sold my inheritance or God-given gift for a bowl of soup?
Submitting to the passions of the mind and body, slowly one moves away from the path set for him. Pulled down by the hunger for sin, the spiritual gift is soon seen as invaluable. Then with giving the hunger more and more attention, the lentil soup soon becomes to the perception something of great importance. Men desert their wives and families, for what seems as a better deal. People leave their duties at church for an illusion of freedom as to have “fun without answering to anyone”. The gift of eternal life is rejected for what is unpure and fleeting. Cheap sex, drunkness, violence and cutthroat competition being some of the bowls we so willingly devour, but how small-minded and lopsided are these pursuits! We all give our lives away for a bowl of lentil soup, at some point or the other, acknowledging it or not, we have sold some or all of our God-given gifts for a bowl of soup…a simple bowl of lentil soup.
I sit here and wish that I had the wisdom in those moments of weakness to not have given in to my hunger, and stood strong as to overcome the urge to accept the bowl of lentil soup for the gifts given to me. The what ifs you unfortunately have to live with each and every single day after you make that decision to take that bowl of soup. Esau was unfortunately not the only one (though he was made a public example) who sold away his gift for a bowl of soup. Me and you my friend are the Esaus of this day, with the exception of being made public examples, we are true carborn copies of the man Esau…We continually trade what is God-given for a simple bowl of lentil soup. O Lord, grant us the strength not to exchange the gifts You have given to us for a bowl of soup…a simple bowl of lentil soup.
mkhonto85 