Uproot Your Impulsivity

“Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, ‘Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!’ … Jacob said, ‘Sell me your birthright now.’” (Genesis 25:29-31)

Esau’s birthright looked worthless next to Jacob’s red stew. In his overwhelming hunger, Esau could only anticipate the goodness of the stew and not the bitterness it would bring.

“I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” (Genesis 25:32)

If only Esau could have had a foretaste of the regret. If only he could have seen his future agony at Isaac’s feet, when he would cry “out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry … ‘Bless me, even me also, O my father!’” (Genesis 27:34). 

If Esau could have seen the long-term consequences of his impulsivity, he would have waited and walked by faith.

It’s clear, then, why the author of Hebrews connects Esau with sexual immorality and unholiness (Hebrews 12:16). The same impulsivity that led Esau allures believers away from patient faithfulness into the snare of sin. 

Impulsivity is the enemy of faith. It devalues the rewards of long-term obedience and overvalues the rewards of short-term pleasure. It demands what is available now and shuns what God would gladly give later.

Walking by faith means developing taste buds for delayed rewards.

We deny the immediate pleasure of sin for the long-term reward of God’s presence. 

We deny the immediate pleasure of superficial distractions for the long-term reward of slow-growing fruit.

We deny the immediate pleasure of popularity in the world for the long-term reward of God’s approval. 

Are you uprooting impulsivity in your soul?

With every quick glance toward sin, with every shortcut down the easy path, with every binge of red-stew pleasure, you train the tastebuds of your heart.

Teach your soul to follow the way of faith, the way behind Jesus, who endured Friday’s shame to experience the delayed reward of Sunday’s glory.

The birthright is yours—if only you will wait (Romans 8:17).