Elephant in the Room — The Pain in Our Families - Monday
Today’s Verse
Genesis 25:24-27
When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. (ESV)
About a month ago, my little family took a road trip to see my wife Leah’s family back in southern Illinois. These trips are usually timed pretty nicely, where I have some freelance work lined up to lock into while my wife and my mother-in-law run around town shopping and catching up.
When I’m alone at my in-laws’ house, I like to have some background noise, so I queued up an impromptu Back to the Future marathon. Between making tweaks on a website and tuning into the movie content, it was hard not to catch the fact that no matter when they crossed paths, Biff and Marty were locked into the same rivalry. It didn’t matter if it was at school, a dance, or decades apart in time; it was always the same story. Biff pushes Marty around, and Marty can’t help but push back. Whether it was the current day, the past, or the future, it seemed like they never grew out of their inherent squabble.
The same was true for Jacob and Esau in Genesis 25. Jacob couldn’t stand being second, so he grabbed at his twin brother’s heel. Fast forward into adulthood, and Esau is a rugged hunter while Jacob stays close to home. Even though their age and occupation had changed, they still maintained more rivalry than maturity. Like Jon said on Sunday, the story says the boys grew older, but that was more of an age thing than a wisdom one.
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:11 what real maturity looks like: “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” Knowing how the story of Jacob and Esau turns out, I bet they wish they could have progressed through what Paul describes. Maturity shows patience and perspective.
Truthfully, many of us have someone in our family who should have grown up by now but still acts like a child. Maybe it reveals itself when they’re wronged, or perhaps when they’re around a certain group of people. Sometimes WE are that person. Age gives us years, but maturity helps us to lay down our desires, surrender our need for comparison and competition, and learn to love the people around us even when it’s tough.
APPLICATION
This week, let’s ask God to reveal one area where we’ve grown in age but not maturity. After that, commit to doing something about it. Maybe apologize quickly, listen before responding, or choose prayer over despair.
PRAYER
Lord, I know age hasn’t always reflected maturity in my life. Help me to take steps to grow in maturity and avoid childish rivalries and competition. Help me to love the people around me well for who they are, and respond with patience when immaturity and competition are leveraged my way.
