Birthright Blues
Sermon
WRESTLINGS, WONDERS AND WANDERERS!
Sermons For Pentecost (First Third)
Do you have the "birthright blues?" Jane does. Listen to her story.
Jane:
I am so plain and dull that I never have any dates.
Friend: Why don't you go to a good beauty salon and get a different hairdo?
Jane:
Yes, but that costs too much money.
Friend: Well, how about buying a magazine with some suggestions for different ways of setting it yourself?
Jane: Yes, I tried that -- and my hair is too fine. It doesn't hold a set. If I wear it in a bun, it at least looks neat.
Friend: How about using makeup to dramatize your features, then?
Jane: Yes, but my skin is allergic to makeup. I tried it once and my skin got rough and broke out.
Friend: They have lots of good, non-allergenic makeups out now. Why don't you go see a dermatologist?
Jane: Yes, but I know what he'll say. He'll say I don't eat right. I know I eat too much junk and don't have well-balanced meals. That's the way it is when you live by yourself. Oh, well, beauty is only skin deep.
Friend: Well, that's true. Maybe it would help if you took some adult education courses, like in art or current events. It helps make you a good conversationalist, you know.
Jane: Yes, but they're all at night. And after work I'm so exhausted.
Friend: Well, take some correspondence courses, then.
Jane: Yes, but I don't even have time to write letters to my folks. How could I ever find time for correspondence courses?
Friend: You could find time if it were important enough.
Jane: Yes, but that's easy for you to say. You have so much energy. I'm always so tired.
Friend: Why don't you go to bed at night? No wonder you're tired when you sit up and watch "The Late Show" every night.
Jane: Yes, but I've got to do something fun. That's all there is to do when you're like me!6
Have you ever met Jane? Have you ever sung her song? Tell me straight: "Do you have the ‘birthright blues'?"
In our text for this morning there are many themes worth exploring. One could talk about sibling rivalry, Mama's boy versus Daddy's boy, macho versus cultured, brawn versus brain. But there is one theme that dominates the story and it concerns Esau's birthright. Why did he give it up so easily?
But first let me say a word about the birthright itself. In the Hebrew tradition, a birthright was really the right of the first-born son. It included holding "a position of honor as head of the family and a double share of the inheritance."7 In this particular case, one would assume it also meant inheriting the promise made to Abraham of a great nation and of a new land.
So this was no small thing that Esau traded away in a matter of minutes -- and all for a bowl of lentils! Why did he do so? The easy answer is that he was just stupid. He did not understand the value of the birthright and so he was easily tricked out of it by a cunning younger brother.
One might also assume that Esau was one who lived only for the present moment. To him, "a bird in the hand" was always worth "two in the bush," or in this case, a "bowl in the hand" was surely worth "a birthright in the bush."
Perhaps one could even make the case that Esau was a modernist after all. He must have heard the ‘60s saying, "If it feels good, do it," and made his own adaptation: "If it looks good, trade for it."
But the last verse of our story suggests that none of these views reflect Esau's primary problem. Verse 34b gives our answer: "Thus Esau despised his birthright." Like our poor little Jane, Esau suffered from the "birthright blues." He did not treasure what he had been given. He was indifferent about it. He would trade it for anything, even the mushy contents of a bowl! To Esau it was worth nothing!
Esau suffered from the "birthright blues," and from that time forward thousands have followed his example. How far will the epidemic spread? It is hard to say. There are so many cases, even today. Are you one of them? Do you hate your birthright?
Do you feel gypped? Do you resent the body you received, your face, your intelligence, your lack of intelligence, your background, your inheritance, your lack of inheritance?
Jesus evidently was aware of the "birthright blues" syndrome. He even dedicated an entire parable to speak to it. You do remember the story about the talents, don't you? The master called his servants together and to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one. When he returned to receive back the money he had entrusted to them, the ones with two and five talents had used them wisely and doubled their worth, but the one who had only one talent had buried it in the ground.
If you ask me, he had a bad case of the "birthright blues." He was ashamed of what had been given to him. He treated it as if it had little value at all. The master was very angry with this ungrateful servant!
But I have to admit, it is very easy to slip into those "birthright blues." It is very easy to feel sorry for oneself. It is very easy to find others who receive "more" or "better."
So when we stand next to someone with a better body, a better brain, a prettier face, why not succumb to a little "birthright blues?" And why not follow Esau's example? Why not misuse what we have been given? Why not settle for the moment instead of waiting for a future payoff? Why not take something that God gave as special and treat it as though it were worth nothing?
And why should we ever care about the larger picture. Who cares about intended use? Why should we respect our birthright? Are we not free to do with our birthright as we choose? What we have is for our own use or abuse. Am I right?
The ultimate trap is to end up with no birthright at all, feeling that we have no promise from God and nothing to do. So we bury our talent, sell our birthright and join Jane in our pitiful lament: "That's all there is to do when you're like [us]."
But the Bible says otherwise. It tells us to pick up our pallet of self-pity and walk. It tells us to "Go and sin no more." It tells us to welcome the stranger, care for the outcast. It tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves. It tells us to use all that we have for the glory of God, to let our lights shine.
Fortunately, there is an alternative to the "birthright blues." Ask Helen Keller. If anyone could get my vote as the most likely candidate for the "birthright blues," it would be Helen. Born without sight or hearing, she eventually made the journey from self-pity to communication and on to spirituality and love. I challenge any of us to place our self-pity next to hers and feel justified about our moodiness!
Tim Hansel said it right when he wrote, "Pain is inevitable, but misery is optional."8 The "birthright blues" is a choice. It is not a given!
Perhaps some of you are afraid you will leave the service today without a reverent word. You are not a "plain Jane" or a talent waster. You have no "Cinderella" or "Cinderfella" complex. You do not feel short changed, but rather blessed. So where is your example if not Esau or Jacob?
You might try emulating the servants with the two and five talents by taking what has been given you and using it wisely, not for your own advancement, but for the sake of the Master who entrusted it to you.
The choice we make in life often is between two major options: living as though we have the "birthright blues" or the "birthday bonanza." Most of us feel one way or the other: either basically blessed with what we have been given or basically short changed.
This human dilemma is why this Old Testament lesson is so important to us and so relevant. It asks us if we join Esau in hating our birthright. It asks us if we are willing to settle for the moment, if we treat cheaply what has great value, if we pity ourselves when we have been given much.
So where are you right now? Are you slipping into the "birthright blues?" Are you celebrating your "birthday bonanza?"
And regardless of where you are right now, where do you want to be? Does Esau's route sound okay? Sell out cheap; hate what is yours.
What do you want to do with your talents? Put them alongside others and weep? Put them next to need, and serve?
What will be your basic stance in life? Gratitude or dissatisfaction?
So what will it be for you? Will you cast your pearls before swine, sell your birthright for a cup of chili, bury your talent or use it, be grateful for all that has been given to you or pout in the corner until you win the lottery?
Will you live only for the moment, care more about food and money than meaning and purpose, value life or devalue it?
Let me make it simple for now: What will your autobiography be titled: Birthright Blues or Birthday Bonanza? You decide!
Jane:
I am so plain and dull that I never have any dates.
Friend: Why don't you go to a good beauty salon and get a different hairdo?
Jane:
Yes, but that costs too much money.
Friend: Well, how about buying a magazine with some suggestions for different ways of setting it yourself?
Jane: Yes, I tried that -- and my hair is too fine. It doesn't hold a set. If I wear it in a bun, it at least looks neat.
Friend: How about using makeup to dramatize your features, then?
Jane: Yes, but my skin is allergic to makeup. I tried it once and my skin got rough and broke out.
Friend: They have lots of good, non-allergenic makeups out now. Why don't you go see a dermatologist?
Jane: Yes, but I know what he'll say. He'll say I don't eat right. I know I eat too much junk and don't have well-balanced meals. That's the way it is when you live by yourself. Oh, well, beauty is only skin deep.
Friend: Well, that's true. Maybe it would help if you took some adult education courses, like in art or current events. It helps make you a good conversationalist, you know.
Jane: Yes, but they're all at night. And after work I'm so exhausted.
Friend: Well, take some correspondence courses, then.
Jane: Yes, but I don't even have time to write letters to my folks. How could I ever find time for correspondence courses?
Friend: You could find time if it were important enough.
Jane: Yes, but that's easy for you to say. You have so much energy. I'm always so tired.
Friend: Why don't you go to bed at night? No wonder you're tired when you sit up and watch "The Late Show" every night.
Jane: Yes, but I've got to do something fun. That's all there is to do when you're like me!6
Have you ever met Jane? Have you ever sung her song? Tell me straight: "Do you have the ‘birthright blues'?"
In our text for this morning there are many themes worth exploring. One could talk about sibling rivalry, Mama's boy versus Daddy's boy, macho versus cultured, brawn versus brain. But there is one theme that dominates the story and it concerns Esau's birthright. Why did he give it up so easily?
But first let me say a word about the birthright itself. In the Hebrew tradition, a birthright was really the right of the first-born son. It included holding "a position of honor as head of the family and a double share of the inheritance."7 In this particular case, one would assume it also meant inheriting the promise made to Abraham of a great nation and of a new land.
So this was no small thing that Esau traded away in a matter of minutes -- and all for a bowl of lentils! Why did he do so? The easy answer is that he was just stupid. He did not understand the value of the birthright and so he was easily tricked out of it by a cunning younger brother.
One might also assume that Esau was one who lived only for the present moment. To him, "a bird in the hand" was always worth "two in the bush," or in this case, a "bowl in the hand" was surely worth "a birthright in the bush."
Perhaps one could even make the case that Esau was a modernist after all. He must have heard the ‘60s saying, "If it feels good, do it," and made his own adaptation: "If it looks good, trade for it."
But the last verse of our story suggests that none of these views reflect Esau's primary problem. Verse 34b gives our answer: "Thus Esau despised his birthright." Like our poor little Jane, Esau suffered from the "birthright blues." He did not treasure what he had been given. He was indifferent about it. He would trade it for anything, even the mushy contents of a bowl! To Esau it was worth nothing!
Esau suffered from the "birthright blues," and from that time forward thousands have followed his example. How far will the epidemic spread? It is hard to say. There are so many cases, even today. Are you one of them? Do you hate your birthright?
Do you feel gypped? Do you resent the body you received, your face, your intelligence, your lack of intelligence, your background, your inheritance, your lack of inheritance?
Jesus evidently was aware of the "birthright blues" syndrome. He even dedicated an entire parable to speak to it. You do remember the story about the talents, don't you? The master called his servants together and to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one. When he returned to receive back the money he had entrusted to them, the ones with two and five talents had used them wisely and doubled their worth, but the one who had only one talent had buried it in the ground.
If you ask me, he had a bad case of the "birthright blues." He was ashamed of what had been given to him. He treated it as if it had little value at all. The master was very angry with this ungrateful servant!
But I have to admit, it is very easy to slip into those "birthright blues." It is very easy to feel sorry for oneself. It is very easy to find others who receive "more" or "better."
So when we stand next to someone with a better body, a better brain, a prettier face, why not succumb to a little "birthright blues?" And why not follow Esau's example? Why not misuse what we have been given? Why not settle for the moment instead of waiting for a future payoff? Why not take something that God gave as special and treat it as though it were worth nothing?
And why should we ever care about the larger picture. Who cares about intended use? Why should we respect our birthright? Are we not free to do with our birthright as we choose? What we have is for our own use or abuse. Am I right?
The ultimate trap is to end up with no birthright at all, feeling that we have no promise from God and nothing to do. So we bury our talent, sell our birthright and join Jane in our pitiful lament: "That's all there is to do when you're like [us]."
But the Bible says otherwise. It tells us to pick up our pallet of self-pity and walk. It tells us to "Go and sin no more." It tells us to welcome the stranger, care for the outcast. It tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves. It tells us to use all that we have for the glory of God, to let our lights shine.
Fortunately, there is an alternative to the "birthright blues." Ask Helen Keller. If anyone could get my vote as the most likely candidate for the "birthright blues," it would be Helen. Born without sight or hearing, she eventually made the journey from self-pity to communication and on to spirituality and love. I challenge any of us to place our self-pity next to hers and feel justified about our moodiness!
Tim Hansel said it right when he wrote, "Pain is inevitable, but misery is optional."8 The "birthright blues" is a choice. It is not a given!
Perhaps some of you are afraid you will leave the service today without a reverent word. You are not a "plain Jane" or a talent waster. You have no "Cinderella" or "Cinderfella" complex. You do not feel short changed, but rather blessed. So where is your example if not Esau or Jacob?
You might try emulating the servants with the two and five talents by taking what has been given you and using it wisely, not for your own advancement, but for the sake of the Master who entrusted it to you.
The choice we make in life often is between two major options: living as though we have the "birthright blues" or the "birthday bonanza." Most of us feel one way or the other: either basically blessed with what we have been given or basically short changed.
This human dilemma is why this Old Testament lesson is so important to us and so relevant. It asks us if we join Esau in hating our birthright. It asks us if we are willing to settle for the moment, if we treat cheaply what has great value, if we pity ourselves when we have been given much.
So where are you right now? Are you slipping into the "birthright blues?" Are you celebrating your "birthday bonanza?"
And regardless of where you are right now, where do you want to be? Does Esau's route sound okay? Sell out cheap; hate what is yours.
What do you want to do with your talents? Put them alongside others and weep? Put them next to need, and serve?
What will be your basic stance in life? Gratitude or dissatisfaction?
So what will it be for you? Will you cast your pearls before swine, sell your birthright for a cup of chili, bury your talent or use it, be grateful for all that has been given to you or pout in the corner until you win the lottery?
Will you live only for the moment, care more about food and money than meaning and purpose, value life or devalue it?
Let me make it simple for now: What will your autobiography be titled: Birthright Blues or Birthday Bonanza? You decide!
