TEXT: GENESIS 25: 29-34
Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came
in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me
have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called
Edom) Jacob
replied, “First sell me your birthright.” “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said.
“What good is the birthright to me?”
But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore
an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some
bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So
Esau despised his birthright.
Everybody
wants to get things done without having to wait or to be delayed. We live in
the world where everything is expected to be done “instantly,” nobody wants to
wait any longer. The world has become a “quick fix society” where instant
gratification is needed for everything.
Gone are
the days of slow and steady wins the race, in fact, people finds it difficult
to wait on the queue at the till, drivers are always in a hurry, pedestrians
can’t wait for traffic because they want to get to their destinations within a
twinkle of an eye. Everybody wants to get everything done NOW without having to
wait.
The new
age of technology and the advancement of science, has made people to always be
in a hurry to get things done like microwave. The world is creaming “I want it
done now, I must have it now, and I don’t care what the future holds; all that
matter to me now is “NOW.”!
Instant
gratification is the desire to enjoy pleasure or fulfillment without delay or
deferment. Instant gratification has caused some people to indulge or engage in
unspeakable acts that has caused them irreparable harm, due to their lack of
patience.
People
are getting involved in various crimes, fraud, sexual immoralities and other
sinful acts in other to attain or achieve a purpose. We all need to understand
that life is not a bed of roses, and nothing good comes cheap. Consequently,
whatever you get cheap or easily may not last. Our text explains how dangerous
it could be when we want to get our desires met instantly without waiting for
the right time. If you eat your fruit without
waiting for it to ripe, you are setting your teeth on edge!
Esau was
hungry; he wanted food at all cost at that particular time. He could not wait
to prepare his own food; he went to ask for his brother’s food. The brother
demanded for Esau’s birthright in exchange of the food. Esau allowed the hunger
to overrule his sense of reasoning, he did not see any importance of the
birthright at the moment of hunger, the birthright was meaningless to him,
after all he could not eat the birthright to satisfy his hunger; and he was
dead hungry!
Esau decided
to trade his birthright (his future) for an immediate satisfaction that would
last for a moment. Many people are like Esau, they are interested in their now
and do not mind what become of their future. They look for instant
gratification (what satisfy their now) the devil will use small thing to rob
them of their glorious future like Esau! They trade their glory to acquire
worthless materials.
Delayed
gratification will not kill you; it will only give you the opportunity to get
the best, because delayed gratification is equal to greater rewards. If Esau
had endured the hunger; and waited to cook his own food, he would have eaten
more that what he sold his birthright for, and he would not have lost his
birthright too. However, because of impatience and love for instant
gratification, he lost his glorious future! The blessing that belonged to him
was given to his brother.
As a
child of God, don’t let the challenges of life push you out of your patience to
wait for God to act. Do not destroy your TOMORROW because of TODAY. Endure hardship; wait
patiently for God your time of joy is coming. If you delay your gratification
you will not regret it. Instant gratification will cost you something, you may get
what you want now like Esau, but you will pay dearly for it in future.
“See
that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single
meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you
know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he
sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.” (Hebrew
12:16-17). Wait
for God’s time and avoid INSTANT GRATIFICATION
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