AVOID INSTANT GRATIFICATION

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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