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Have you ever been hungry? I’m not talking about just feeling like it’s time to eat. No, I’m talking about really being hungry, even to the point of feeling sick and weak. Have you ever felt like that? Esau did, and it cost him dearly.

In Genesis 25:29-34 we read about Esau coming in from the field hungry. He was so hungry, he asked Jacob for a bowl of his stew. Jacob, seeing this as a prime opportunity, told Esau he could have a bowl of stew if he was willing to part with his birthright. What happened next was one of the biggest mistakes of Esau’s life. Esau, thinking he was going to die of hunger, traded his birthright for a small bowl of stew.

Esau was willing to give up his birthright (a double portion of his father’s inheritance) for something as insignificant as a bowl of stew. Friends, this is the same plague that affects our society today. How many people are willing to sacrifice something so special for something so trivial? Just think of the special things today people will trade in for a moment or two of something which will eventually pass away.

• Pornography! How many men, and women for that matter, have traded in their happy families in order to fulfill a moment of lustful desire?
• Adultery! How many people have traded in a long mature marriage in order to fulfill the fleeting desires of the flesh? (see 2 Samuel 11)
• Workaholic! How many people have traded in precious time with their families, especially their children, in order to work long and unnecessary hours to gain an extra dollar?
• Cheating! How many people are willing to trade in honesty and integrity in order to move up in the corporate world?
• Man-Pleaser! How many people have traded in their obedience to God in order to gain the respect and approval of mere man? (see Galatians 1:10)

You see, friends, Esau gave up something that should have been special to him to fulfill a desire of the flesh, and people in our society do the very same thing. People today are willing to trade in their marriages, families, honesty, integrity and obedience to God for something as worthless as a bowl of stew.

What about you? Are you willing to trade something special for something of no value? Think about it…“What’s your bowl of stew?”

Now that’s Something to Think About!