In ancient Hebrew, birthright was everything. It was status, it was promise, it was the future for you and your family. And it was probably a lot more than that, but I’m not a Hebrew scholar, so I’ll stop there.
There’s a story in Hebrew about a promised son who sold his birthright to his younger brother.
His price?
A single meal.
The older brother wasn’t starved or in any real need. He was simply longing for present comforts instead of future promises.
I relate to this story. How many times a week do I sacrifice a future promise for current comforts?
Multiple. Probably daily.
This plays out in a number of ways.
Spending money now that I should save for later.
Saying something now instead of waiting ‘till a better moment.
Sleeping now instead of working hard.
It happens in more ways than those, of course, but I can’t help but feel like that older brother must have felt, especially in retrospect (which is everything, isn’t it?).
-Cliff
Cliff’s Note: Future promises often outweigh current comforts.