Trading Up

In Genesis there is the story of Esau selling his birthright to his brother Jacob for a mess of pottage. Now we usually view this as a cautionary tale from the perspective of Esau - don't be so short-sighted as to give up your birthright forever for something insignificant and fleeting to satisfy some craving for a moment. But what if we look at the story from Jacob's perspective. He was able to look past his current hungers and trade something small and insignificant for a birthright that would bless him and his family for generations. It can be difficult to give up even small things that we love and that feel important to us in the moment, but if we are willing to sacrifice a little pain and hunger now in order to secure our birthright in the Kingdom of Heaven, then we will find that in the end we will be blessed with far more than we gave up. There's a story of a man who started with a single paperclip and he was able to trade that for something bigger or better, and then trade again and again, until eventually he ended up with a house. That small mess of pottage was not the only thing that Jacob had to give up in his life. But every time we give up something for the Lord, He blesses us with something bigger and better, and the more and more we trade our earthly treasures for a far greater award, so much greater shall be our treasures in heaven, where moth and rust can't corrupt, and where no thieves can break in and steal.