Our Choices Matter

     I have been reading Genesis recently, and the twins Esau and Jacob are an interesting pair. The Bible tells us in Genesis 25 that "the babies jostled each other within her" womb (v. 22). Esau was a hunter and Jacob "stayed among the tents" (v. 27). One day Esau came home hungry from a hunting trip and asked for some of Jacob's red stew. Jacob agreed to give it to him under one condition, that Esau would "sell" Jacob his birthright first (v. 31). Esau agreed because he was dying of hunger (v. 32). 

    In Genesis 26, Isaac, the father of the twins, did as his father Abraham did to his wife Sarah and told the people of the area, the Philistines, that Rebekah was his sister and not his wife as he was afraid of the people of the land and what they might do to him to get his beautiful wife. In the mean time, Esau was intermarrying with women from the land, both Hittites that became a "source of grief" to Isaac and Rebekah (v. 35). 

    In Genesis 27, Jacob got the blessings that his father, Isaac, was going to give the oldest twin, Esau, with the help of his mother, Rebekah. Together, mother and son concoct a plan to fool Isaac, whose eyes are failing, by having Jacob dress in Esau's clothing and putting on goat skins as Esau was hairy and Jacob was smoothed skinned (v.16). The plan worked and before Esau could return from yet another hunting trip, this time to get meat to make a meal for his father at Isaac's request, Jacob had received Esau's blessings. Since Isaac had no blessings left to give Esau, he essentially gave him curses. Esau was mad and wanted to kill his brother. Rebekah sent Jacob to her brother Laban in Haran for safety. 

    The lying, conniving, and betrayals in the lives of the twins caused historical divisions among their family as well as their ancestors' families. But it didn't just start with the twins, Rebekah and Isaac both had poor parenting moments as did Isaac's parents, Abraham and Sarah. But God still kept His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob regardless of the poor choices and decisions that they made. God kept His promises, even when they failed to follow through as He asked them. But there were consequences for disobeying God's plans and not just for each of them individually, but to generations of their descendants who followed.

    As we go in to this new year, there's a lesson in the lives of Esau and Jacob. The lesson is that our choices matter and they can matter for generations to come. We need to be wise about receiving counsel that has motives other than godly motives. We need to stop before making decisions and pray, even small choices can lead to big consequences-good or bad. Don't take lightly the opportunities God gives you and don't fail to accept responsibility for paths you should not have taken. Own up and move on, however you are able to do so, so that your future is bright and so is the future of those in your circle of influence. 

Proverbs 12:22 The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.