Elephant in the Room — The Pain in Our Families - Thursday
Today’s Verse
Genesis 25:31-33
Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. (ESV)
Have you ever made a bad trade? I distinctly remember when Pokémon first came out WAY BACK in the ’90s, and every kid had them at school. I brought my favorites to class, and back then, you just traded whatever you wanted for whatever somebody else had. We didn't check eBay, StockX, or Marketplace to make sure we were the ones winning the trade. I was really looking for a certain Pokémon and hoping someone at school would trade theirs away. Nobody did, so I was mostly uninterested in what people had brought. But then I was offered an unbeatable deal. The set I was trying to build needed three cards, and I already had two (and thought I had extras of them at home). The kid wheeled and dealed me until I came away thinking I had scored a great trade, only to realize later that I had traded away one of the cards I didn’t actually have a duplicate of. I wasn’t closer to completing my set; I was further away. The deal was sealed with a “no trade back,” and if you’re a ’90s kid, you know there was no going back.
That’s what happened with Jacob and Esau. It’s a super frustrating story where you almost plead for patience, wisdom, understanding, basically anything, because it doesn’t make much sense. Somehow Esau thought a bowl of stew was worth more than his inheritance. Jacob thought control of the family was worth more than his brother’s trust. Both of them gave up what mattered most for what felt urgent, and there was no undoing the trade. Jon put it plainly on Sunday: don’t give up what you want most for what you want now.
We’ve all seen similar bad trades play out in our lives, trades we wish we could have spoken truth into, but that fell into chaos. A marriage falls apart because of selfish desires. A parent lets one mistake erode all trust with their child. Life is traded for death because of depression and anxiety.
Bad trades may feel small in the moment, but they build mountains of resentment that block forgiveness. Thankfully, Paul helps us understand that we’ve already benefitted from the best trade of all in 2 Corinthians 5:17-18, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” We don’t have to live defined by bad choices. In Christ, the old can pass away and the new can come. That means we don’t have to keep making the same mistakes! We can choose differently.
APPLICATION
Take a minute today and think about the “trades” you’re making in your own life. Are you giving up what matters most, like time with your family, trust in your relationships, or time with God, for things that only feel urgent in the moment, like extra work or a little more sleep? Maybe it looks like trading patience for control, or long-term peace for short-term comfort. Identify one area where you’ve made a bad trade, then take a step toward reconciliation and choose differently today.
PRAYER
Lord, help me see where I’m trading what matters most for things that won’t last. Give me wisdom to choose patience over control and peace over easy comfort. Thank You for making me new in Christ and helping me live like it today.
