Pleasure Now, Or Pleasure Later

Today, I am going to talk about a portion of the story of Jacob and Esau and draw some lessons from it. Let's read the story from Genesis 25:29-34, "And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware to him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright." 
   So Esau was returning home from hunting really hungry. Now was there anything with feeling hungry and wanting something to eat? No. But Esau was so caught up in his present state of hunger, that he could think of nothing more than satisfying his ravenous appetite.  There was much more food in his father's camp which would take, at most, a short time to get ready, but since he was so carried away with the sensation of starvation, that he even thought that he would die in just a few minutes if he didn't get food immediately.  Esau was just thinking of the present, so Jacob thought this an advantage to bargain for the birthright. And Esau hardly hesitated in bargaining for it in just about a heartbeat. So his appetite appeased, He 'despised his birthright'. We tend to think that Esau was rather stupid for doing such a thing, but I began think that whenever we think that this old world is worth living for, and we don't want to go to heaven that bad, we're really doing the same thing that Esau did. We can live in this world from seventy to maybe as much as ninety years, but sooner or later, we are going to die and our 'party' on earth will soon end. But  Praise the Lord, God has given us the gift of eternal life, through Jesus' sacrifice. And if we live for Him in this life and not for ourselves, we will inherit eternal life in a world that will be so glorious, that we cannot begin to understand how wonderful it will be!  2 Corinthians 4:17,18 says,"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."