Genesis 25:33-34 (NLT) But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.

The name Jacob means supplanter or schemer and Isaac's son, Jacob, lived up to that name until the Lord got a hold of him. But before He did, Jacob pulled off a big heist. He schemed and stole Esau's birthright from him. Esau had come in from hunting and he was extremely hungry. Jacob happened to be making some lentil stew and when Esau came in and smelled the stew that was simmering, he immediately wanted some to eat. He asked Jacob for some of his stew and Jacob agreed...providing that Esau would sell his birthright to him. At that point, all Esau was thinking about was his stomach, so he agreed. Jacob gave him the stew and Esau ate it. Then he left, not giving a second thought to what he had done. Later on, when Isaac was about to die and Esau was looking for his father to bless him as the firstborn, it didn't happen. Jacob got the blessing instead. Although Jacob was a deceiver who tricked Esau, the fault lies completely with Esau because he didn't consider the blessing and the God-given rights of being the firstborn as something to be valued. The passage of scripture above says that he showed contempt for those rights.

What we learn from this story is that we need to value what God has given us. You may think that you are currently valuing what the Lord has blessed you with, but perhaps you are not aware that you may be showing contempt for some of those things. Let's name a few things that God has blessed you with. How about your spouse? Do you value your husband or wife as a gift from God, or do you constantly complain about him or her? Do you value your children, or do you think that sometimes they are an inconvenience, causing you to try to distract them with video games and media so that you can have time for yourself? What about your place of employment? Do you thank God every day that you have a job or do you complain about all of the inconveniences that you must put up with along with the people who sometimes rub you the wrong way?

The list goes on and on. The truth is that we many times show contempt for the things that God has given us that we should be thankful for. Esau lost his rights as the firstborn son, missing out on the blessing that should have been his. Let's not miss out on God's blessings because we are not mindful about how good God has been in giving us many good things that we either take for granted or like Esau, show contempt towards. Thank God for all of your blessings so that the river of God's blessings will never stop flowing in your life.

Pastor Joey Vazquez