Compete with Our Selves

UV 3475/10000 Compete with Our Own Selves
So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him; and Esau said in his heart, “ The days of mourning for my father are very near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

Genesis 27 v 41

Jacob stole not only the first born’s rights from Esau but he also stole the blessing reserved for the first born. The first born’s rights represents material blessings while the first born’s rights represents spiritual and holistic blessings beyond the merely material. It was strange that Isaac had only one blessing to give and that was meant for the older son. Esau came under the shadow of a curse. He hated Jacob for it and desired to kill him. The serpent leader sows the seed of hatred in people through an act of treachery or cheating. To take what does not belong to us, leads to conflict, violence, war. Even if a person is more blessed than his peers, the latter became envious of his prosperity or well being and conspire against him even as Cain grew envious of Abel and slew him. Jesus, the Servant Leader in contrast, submitted himself to being killed in order to be poured out as a blessing to all mankind.

Jealousy is like a kind of madness and it causes people to resort even to violence. The serpent leader sows the seed of hatred among people and between families and groups of people leading eventually to rivalry between nations. Jesus, as the Fountain head of blessings has enough for all. When His love seizes our hearts and minds, there is no space for jealousy or envy in us. As Paul, “Love is not jealous nor conceited nor proud.” We are to be patient and kind with all people, especially our enemies, those who hate us without reason, those who oppose us, who plot to harm us, who speak ill of us.

Jacob was needlessly manipulative. If he had trusted God ( Jehovah) as his father and grandfather Abraham did, he would not have had to take matters into his own hands to try to wrest the rights and blessings of the first born. Wherever we are situated in life, we need to just trust the Lord. He will make straight our paths. We need not deviate or get obsessed with the thoughts of how to get ahead of others in life. Our competition is not with others, not even our brothers or sisters. We need to change to be better than we were before, to be more and more like the first born, the Servant Leader Jesus who is humble and gentle.