Holding God In Contempt

Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way.  Thus Esau despised his birthright.  Genesis 25:34

Why does it often seem that those who appear to have everything think little of it ~ when those who are without would sell their souls to get it?  The one who has it all can think nothing of his blessings.

Esau was the firstborn.  He would enjoy a double portion of his father’s inheritance.  He would also be the recipient of God’s promises within the covenant.  Instead of standing in awe of these blessings, he thought nothing of them.  He despised everything that came with being the firstborn, including God’s promises for the future.  His cavalier attitude was on full display the day he come in from hunting, smelled Jacob’s stew, and offered to give Jacob his birthright for a portion of the stew.  An even trade?  Not even close.  But the absurdity of the exchange reveals how much he held his birthright in contempt.

I can read the story, think about Esau’s choice, and mutter “How foolish!”  Yet, holding God in contempt for the promises He has made to me is easy to do.  I’ve done it.  I’ve read a promise and, in a bad moment, shook my head and turned the other way.  “Yeah right, like God is really going to do that for me!”  My contempt causes me to cite the numerous times I felt God didn’t keep His promises. I punished Him by exchanging the benefits of His covenant for the lies of His enemy.

When it appears that God doesn’t come through for me and, instead, sets the stage for my unbelief, it is time to exercise faith ~ not judgment.  In the dark moments of Jesus’ life, it could have appeared to Him, and everyone close to Him, that His Father failed to love, protect, and preserve His life.  Hindsight shows that God had a plan of redemption for His Son and kept every promise to sustain Him.  I cannot judge God by the dark moments.  That which causes me to hold God in contempt are the very things plagued by insufficient spiritual vision.  Thanksgiving, not contempt, should mark the demeanor of every blood-bought child.

Forgive me for every time I sit in the judge’s seat and sift your promises into two piles; those You keep and those You don’t.  Wash away the sin of my unbelief.  Amen