Trading Our Birthright for a Bowl of Stew. Repeating Esau's Error and the Exchange We'll Live to Regret.

Recently, I watched a video of a message presented by a pastor friend. It was part of his series Dangerous Prayers, and this message’s topic was “God, Break My Heart,” which is best understood in the context of “God, break my heart for what breaks yours.”

Having walked with Christ for 34 years, I’m well-acquainted with that experience.

It happened to me the first time, many years ago, when I first encountered the grace of God and took him up on his offer of life through the person of Jesus. I was 17. It happened again in my early 20s when my heart broke for young people, causing Kim and me to dive into a decade and a half of serving youth, both domestically and abroad. It happened a third time when I discovered adventure ministry and the impact that it could have on people’s lives.

I realized while listening to that message. it’s happened again.

Today, my heart breaks for the church – God’s self-proclaimed people, my brothers and sisters in Christ – and for the trade that many are making by allowing their attention and allegiance to be co-opted by an earthly kingdom and its politics. In describing this phenomenon, I’ve often used the imagery from Genesis 25 of Esau selling his birthright as the firstborn son of Isaac. For me, this story provides an apt illustration of how a small and immediate desire can be elevated to the place where it costs someone something of far greater value.

In the time that the story of Esau takes place, the concept of the birthright revolved around a firstborn son’s identity as his father’s son and his inheritance as the heir. Esau was Issacs’ heir. Isaac was the heir of Abraham, the father of the Hebrew faith, and the beginning of the line that led to Jesus.  The position of firstborn was a foundational aspect of life, but in a move to satisfy an immediate natural desire, Esau traded away what should have been something of primary importance to him.

This is how the story reads:

“Once, when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.[a]) 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” 32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So, he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way.

Thus Esau despised his birthright.”

Somehow, in the midst of life’s dynamics, Esau had lost sight of who he was and what that meant. His position in the family and his role as heir should have been the guiding anchor for what he valued and how he lived. But, for whatever reason, somewhere along the way, he lost connection with all of that and made a tragic trade that had far-reaching consequences. In the intense emotion of an immediate sense of need that felt far more dire than it actually was, he lost sight of what truly mattered.

This story is a powerful illustration of what I feel I’ve watched happen to the church in America – and especially the evangelical/conservative church – over the past few decades. Based simply on observing what we most often say and do, I believe we’ve fallen victim to Esau’s error.

Esau traded his birthright for a simple bowl of literal stew. We’ve traded our birthright as children of God and ambassadors of his Kingdom for temporal priorities and trust in man and his political systems. The result of the trade is that our “bowl of stew” has clouded our vision and co-opted our allegiance.  And in great measure, caused us to rewrite how we understand and interpret the Bible itself. We may not exactly despise our birthright, but we’ve found a million ways to rewrite the narrative and explain away the glaring contradictions between the teachings of Jesus and how we approach life as Christians in America, particularly the importance we place on our country and its politics.

To understand what I mean, I think it would be helpful to note how the New Testament refers to those who have entered into a relationship with God through Jesus.

We are called:

• Children of God

• The Redeemed

• Disciples

• Bondslaves to Christ

• Followers of the Way

• Citizens of the Kingdom of God

• And Ambassadors of Christ

just to name a few.

Though Romans describes all human beings as “dead in trespasses and sins” and “enslaved to the basic principles of this world”, the new birth fundamentally changed everything and gave us this new birthright. Through his own initiative and sacrifice, God in Christ, redeemed us – literally bought us back, out of that enslavement – so that we could be living representatives of Jesus to the world.

II Corinthians 5 is just one representative example.

“17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.”

Our identity, our birthright, and, by extension, our fundamental allegiance no longer belongs to this world’s system of values, power, or politics, but to our Master and Redeemer. We are no longer our own. We’ve been “bought with a price.” (1 Cor 6:20)

That allegiance to the Kingdom of God is to influence everything we do and everything we espouse as we go through our daily lives. Our first responsibility – above literally every other thing in life – is to first be a disciple and, secondly, to make disciples as we go about our daily lives. THAT is our birthright and responsibility as citizens of the Kingdom. That is what’s of highest value. That is what matters most for time and eternity.

But somewhere along the way, we’ve forgotten.

I rather tend to think we’ve been led astray, both by our own fallen natures that thrive on pride and self, and by the adversary who knows just how to manipulate us to seek our own way while putting a nice, religious spin on it. That way, we not only forget our birthright but willingly trade it away for something temporal and inferior.

That is what’s broken my heart anew.

As I look around and listen, I see so many who have traded away their responsibility to live as representatives of Jesus to the world around them for a focus on and trust in temporary, earthbound political structures.  Their focused attention has moved from being a disciple of Jesus and introducing others to him to “crafting the country they want to live in,” which most often means a country where others who have differing ideas are demonized, marginalized, and discriminated against.

Because, let’s be honest, that is the way the kingdoms of this world function. They are organized and run to force people to comply with the wishes of those who govern. Sometimes, those who are governed have a say in that process, and sometimes, they don’t. But regardless, the goal is the same. Control over others.

In America, the freedom we enjoy of having a voice in our governance has had a sinister side effect, one that doesn’t seem to have made it onto the radar of most modern evangelical Christians. Because we have a voice, many have come to place their focus and trust in that voice and in the system. They believe that THE way God calls them to be “salt and light” in the world is through their voice and their vote. And that means in practical terms is using their voice and their vote to force their view of “biblical values” onto the people around them.

However, it’s critically important to recognize that Jesus never allowed himself to become embroiled in the political forces that raged around him. And, make no mistake, those political dynamics were huge. In part, it was the interplay of those dynamics that led – humanly speaking – to his crucifixion. In the wilderness, He directly rebuffed the adversary's temptations toward grasping earthly power, money, and fame (Matthew 4:1-11). When He knew that the crowd intended to "make him King by force" He escaped them and withdrew to a mountain by himself. (John 6:16) He placed no trust in humanity or its power structures. John 2:24 says that he “did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men.”And he also never instructed his followers to use or trust in earthbound political systems to force others to conform to their will. His example was utterly contrary.

Instead, he instituted a wholly different kind of Kingdom, one not based on this world’s way of operating. That kingdom focused on personal transformation from within, not forced compliance from without. He made it clear that if you want to change a person’s actions, change their heart. That’s what redemption and living the Way of Jesus does; it makes real transformation possible. So, if you want to change the world, change the people who inhabit it from the inside out. THAT is the vision of the Kingdom of God.  “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” Literally the entire Sermon on the Mount revolves around this theme.

But there is another very subtle dynamic that has helped lead to this erroneous shift. It's a corruption of what the scriptures call us to in how we view ourselves as Christians in America. Our Declaration of Independence says that our "unalienable rights" as human beings are “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Stated another way, our nation is founded on the belief that it’s every person’s right to pursue what makes them happy. Which sounds nice and perfectly reasonable.

The only problem is that it completely contradicts the basic tenets of discipleship to Jesus and life in the Kingdom of God.

I offer just two examples from myriad passages in the NT, which make clear that as citizens of the Kingdom of God, our life is no longer about us or our “happiness.” It’s about loving God and serving others as a means of pointing them to the Life that’s available in Jesus.

Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

This is literally one of Jesus’ most repeated themes to his disciples throughout all four gospels.

Philippians 2

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature a God,

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

7 rather, he made himself nothing

by taking the very nature b of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

The tragic shift that has resulted is that many have traded our identity – our birthright – as a child of God for identity as an American, who has a fundamental right to the pursuit of their own happiness and to oppose all others who threaten that right.

So like modern Esaus, we’ve lost our way and forgotten about living and proclaiming the Kingdom of God, because “What good is that to me when socialism, and the gays, and the illegal immigrants, the impingement of my gun rights, the abortionists, and a “fake” illness are wrecking the economy and destroying my country!?”

Do you see the shift? My country. My rights. Earth. Here. Now. Our. Our. Our. Mine. Mine. Mine.

And so, with our bowl of stew firmly in hand, we stand upon our self-righteous soapboxes with raised voices and pointed fingers. And we rant, and posture, and condemn, and scream and yell, and belittle and ridicule those we disagree with and perceive as a threat to our happiness – most of whom do not know Christ – and call it “standing for God.” And all that despite the mountain of scripture that clearly states that those kinds of words and actions are not born of the spirit, but of fallen human nature.

I offer just two examples:

Colossians 3

1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Galatians 5

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

But, despite such clear direction, we somehow continue cling to our bowl of stew. And, we’ve gained what we’ve pursued. For many, the taste of political dominance and power has been sweet indeed! Millions have celebrated – well, practically worshipped – national leaders who have epitomized exactly the opposite of the scriptures cited above, and do so enthusiastically. For the past four years, many have been riding high on the idea that their “side” was “winning” and “taking America back.”

Very rarely does it seem that anyone has paused long enough to recognize that what they’ve traded for this temporal “victory” is the force of character and the credibility to speak to those outside the faith as an ambassador of Jesus and the Kingdom of God.

When you have a voice, you have to be very, very careful what you allow it to say.

In our reverie, we never seem to stop to consider the impact that all this trading away of our birthright is having on the hearts of those who are watching and listening or how those who don’t know Christ perceive him and the Gospel because of our words and actions.

Or maybe we just don't care. Or, we care more about our own rights, happiness, and stuff.

You see, when we selfishly push for things that negatively affect others, that sticks. People remember. When we support and elevate political and economic agendas that hurt people, marginalize people, and reduce their rights so that we can be less uncomfortable or feel morally superior, it leaves a mark. And it reflects negatively on the name of Jesus and severely damages our ability to speak for him.

The truth is, we simply can’t reflect everything opposite of Jesus’ words, values, priorities, and actions and then expect those outside the faith to take seriously anything we have to say about God’s love, forgiveness, and life in Christ.

Why would they?

The tragic irony about this is that all this is happening at an unprecedented time of hardship and uncertainty in our nation.  When vast numbers of people most need the comfort, hope, and good news that the gospel of Jesus provides, we’ve traded away our credibility to speak for Him and seem far more concerned with fighting political word battles in support of our party or president than representing Jesus.

All of this breaks my heart.

Because we ought to know better. We have the scriptures, and they are abundantly clear. We say we take them seriously and at face value. We say they are authoritative on all they speak to. Still, many continue to make the birthright trade and somehow believe that the bowl of stew temporary political "wins" are a good bargain.

However, Jesus made it painfully clear that we simply cannot claim to be his followers and not seek first the Kingdom of God. We cannot be his disciple and place “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as our highest goal. Jesus poses a very fair question; "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, but don't do what I say?" He put it bluntly, “You cannot serve both God and”…money (i.e., the economy), politics, presidents, power, pride, nationalism, or any other earthbound entity or idea. Our hope and allegiance cannot be placed in those things. And when we do place them there, it's not “patriotic.” It’s not being a “good Christian”; it’s just plain, old-fashioned idolatry.

I’m sure many will be offended by that statement. Honestly, it offends me a little because it’s convicting. But it’s also an unavoidable truth and one that we must take to heart. We must allow who we are and who God calls us to be in the world – our birthright – to recapture our hearts and lure us away from the temptation to trade loyalty to it for loyalty to the earthbound and temporary.

America is temporal.

Its politics are temporal.

Its leaders are temporal.

Money is temporal.

Power and influence are temporal.

Party agendas and power plays are temporal.

They are not worthy of our focus.

They are not worthy of our allegiance.

They are not worthy of our trust.

The Kingdom of God and the souls of man are eternal.

It is to them that our allegiance belongs.

For as Children of the Kingdom and as Disciples of its King, THAT is our birthright. And whether or not we allow ourselves to acknowledge it, we'll have to answer for the trade we've made.