Genesis 25:24 -34

Esau was not evil, he was immature. We’re all born that way. Unfortunately some people never grow out of it. Scott Peck wrote a book called “The Road Less Traveled”. In it he writes about four disciplines people must learn and practice to live a mature life. One of those disciplines involves delayed gratification.

Delayed gratification is the practice of doing the hard part first. You eat your green beans before you eat your cake. You earn the money before you spend the money. You do your schoolwork before you play. This is a discipline that can be learned the hard way. When you fail a test after partying all weekend you might learn this discipline. Filing bankruptcy after maxing out your credit on Christmas gifts and vacations is another hard way to learn this lesson. The easiest way is to have parents teach their children the importance of this discipline from your youth.

Esau was his father’s favorite. Parents with an only child or a favorite child sometimes go too easy on the child. We cannot know for sure, but it is likely Isaac did not teach Esau the importance of delayed gratification. It is clear that in this case Esau wanted stew, and he wanted it right now. In the desire of the moment he gave no consideration to the consequences of the future. He traded his birthright for a bowl of soup. His birthright was equal to a full share of the inheritance when his father passed. We have no way of knowing the monetary value of that birthright, but we do know that Isaac had inherited all of his father’s wealth. Isaac continued to add to that wealth as he lived. The birthright was worth a huge fortune.

Immaturity may not keep you from being a Christian. It will keep you from being the type of Christian that can be a blessing to others. Immature people are seldom in the position to help others. We were all born immature, but barring a disability, there’s no excuse to stay that way. If we are going to be the men and women that God wants us to be, we must grow up. We must learn and practice the discipline of delayed gratification.