Never Sacrifice What You Want Most For What You Want For The Moment Pt. 3

Point #2

I’m famished…. Genesis 25:30

Esau was famished! He found himself wearied from the journey and toils of being out in the field; and it netted him nothing more than an unquenchable desire to satisfy his thirst. He desperately needed something to drink, because he had labored so hard while on his journey.

Through Esau we can surmise that even in our lives we can undertake good works, and embark upon God inspired journeys, that still may leave us tired, weary, and thirsting.

Dehydration is a craving generated from the central processing in the brain, and it screams, “YOU MUST HAVE SOMETHING TO DRINK AND YOU MUST HAVE IT NOW!” That’s where we find Esau in this “most vs. moment scenario.” Everything inside of him said “you need it now”, causing him to relinquish everything he was to inherited later.

We all have needs that must be met. We all hear the screaming sounds that yell, “you are dying of thirst.” Some things we thirst for are honorable before the Lord and others are not. For those that are pleasing to God, we must do what every coach, sports trainer, and parent from peewee sports to the pros encourages. “Drink a lot of fluids before you take the field.”

We must be proactive in preparing ourselves for the journey God has set for our lives. We must hydrate our minds, our souls, and our spirits before we take the field to battle in this world. When I see Esau, and consider my life and the lives of others, I realize that what caused him to be famished, and to ultimately give up his birthright, was because he didn’t do at least one (if not more) of these things:

1. He did not hydrate himself properly before going out into the field.

2. He did not prepare properly for the journey, and ran out of what he needed before his journey ended.

3. He didn’t distinguish between his flesh saying, “You need it now” and his spirit saying, “you can really do without that stew.”

When you find yourself thirsty and desperately in need of a drink, listen to the Spirit of God and remember the words Jesus spoke to the woman at the well in John 4:13-14

Take a sip of Jesus today!

NEVER SACRIFICE WHAT YOU WANT MOST FOR WHAT YOU WANT FOR THE MOMENT!

See you next time when we talk about Esau feeling like he was going to die.

Blessings,

Darryl

Never Sacrifice What You Want Most For What You Want For The Moment Pt. 2

What makes us give up some of the most important things, for our temporal desires?

Why are we willing to gamble away “our long term for a short term?”

Why must we have it right now, instead of getting it later on?

Esau, when he encountered his brother Jacob preparing stew was not able to look past his immediate desires, to see what the long term results of his actions would produce. In selling his birthright, Esau lost his rightful place as the one to receive the blessings and inheritance of his father; he rejected the privilege to carry on the family name. We like Esau, are blinded by our immediate desires, which cause us to overlook the blessings that God has yet to give us.

It is clear through Esau’s words that he was consumed with his “right now,” and could not see his “later on.” In Genesis 25:30-32 Esau makes 3 statements that show his decisions were made “in the moment.”

1. “Quick, let me have some of that red stew.”(vs. 30)

2. “I am famished.” (vs. 30a)

3. “I am about to die.” (vs. 31)

Point #1: This tells me that Esau wanted what I call a “quickie.” He wanted it fast quick and in a hurry. He was not concerned about anything else except “getting his.” This was common vernacular for my buddies and I, when we were young. It meant we don’t need any of the fixings; just give it to me like it is, and give it to me NOW! As we grew older it became clear that we should not only be concerned with the fact that we were willing to take “quickies” but that there was a person willing to give a “quickie.” Who in their right mind will give away something that is so precious and has taken time to prepare, without wanting something in return? “If we wanted ours, then they wanted theirs.”

"Those who are fueled by their present desires, and inattentive to the long term ramifications of their decision will generally go for a quickie." Our housing marketing, banking industry, automobile industry, and so many other things are in shambles, because we gambled on a quickie. There is no value in those quickies, and for many of us, it has left us in debt without the money to pay.

I wish I could go back to all of the wrong people, the wrong things, and my wrong actions, and get back all of the good times, effort, money, and morality I wasted on them. I’m sure what I wasted then, would be worth so much more now.

As you live your life in Christ don’t go for the “quickie."

“NEVER SACRIFICE WHAT YOU WANT MOST FOR WHAT YOU WANT FOR THE MOMENT.”

See you next time when we talk about being famished.

Blessings,

Darryl

"Your Most versus Your Moment"

Never Sacrifice What You Want Most For What You Want For The Moment

Genesis 25:27-34

This quote was given to me many years back from a person whom I have a great level of respect and appreciation for. During the off season (a few months before camp would begin) many playesr would take a month to go into some intense and demanding training. All of this was preempted by the fact that what lie ahead could produce one of the greatest rewards in our profession, “a Superbowl championship.” Going into training  I found myself excited about the possibilities of what could be produced from this time of training.

Yet when I found myself actually engaged in this training, and experiencing excruciating pains associated with the rigors of hard work, there was only one word that seemed to come to mind, “QUIT!” Long gone was the joy and anticipating of working out, lost in the agony of my pain was the potential of becoming the great player that I always dreamed to be, eliminated from the equation was the visions of working harder than anyone else at my position. Instead my body (through pain) continued to beckon my mind to just “give up!”

Struggling just to make it through, no longer concentrating on the disciplines and techniques needed to compete at the highest level,  and at times unable to finish the drills due to unbearable pain. I could hear the voice of my mentor, my friend, and my coach. “Never sacrifice what you want most, for what you want for the moment!” The echo of his voice and the bellowing sound that seemed to scream louder than my pain, could be heard in my soul, “never sacrifice what you want most for what you want for the moment.” 

This statement means so much to not only professional athletes preparing for a marathon season, that was sure to bring both adulation and consternation. But it is also meaningful to every person that believes. It means something to those who are carriers of a dream, pregnant with vision, sweating with passion, and confident they have a purpose. “The life we live is replete with possibilities, and yet so stingy to the weak minded.” “The difference between realizing a dream, and turning a vision into reality is always delineated at the place in which some give up, and others continue on.” 

I am confident of this, from time to time “we all want to quit!” Quit our marriages, quit trying to be a good parent, quit trying to be a good neighbor, quit being honest, quit in anything you have to put effort into. But it’s important to find out, what is it that will make you continue on? What makes you press forward where others have stopped? What makes you find that second wind, widen your stride, pick up speed, and don’t give up? What makes you ignore the “real time pain?” I found it to be in this quote, “most versus the moment.” 

“Pain only last for a moment," if we continue to press on, or "pain can haunt you for a lifetime," if you quit.

You will be haunted more by the things you quit on, when you know you had more to give, then by the things you couldn’t do because you simply had nothing left to give. God is looking for people who know the value of what is “most” important, versus what will last for a “moment.” Thirteen years removed from professional training, I still hear the voice of my friend Gil saying “never sacrifice your most, for this moment.” 

Next time we will look at Jacob and his brother Esau, and how a most versus a moment scenario played out in their lives.

“Live for the MOST and not for the moment”

God Bless You!

Darryl

Guilty By Association

Has there ever been a cost associated with being friends with someone? Have you ever had to distance yourself from friends or family members, because their actions could tarnish your good reputation? Maybe there would be some, who would look down upon you if they only knew the company you kept? Whether you’ve experience this or not, I can emphatically say, “that at times it can cost you to know someone.”

We see it all the time, a big time political figure, professional athlete, or celebrity losing popularity, endorsements, and public approval, because of their association to someone who did not meet the standards that society deems as acceptable. I often wonder would I be accepted in certain circles if people only knew more about my family and my friends. Would others receive me if they knew my grade school buddies who went to jail, sold drugs, consumed drugs, murdered, and were murdered? You may be able to attest to the fact that there are people in your life that could tarnish your good reputation, if others knew who they really were. {or maybe we are that person}

See the question we all must ask, is not if there is a cost of being associated with those who’s reputation is subpar, rather, “is the pay good enough for you to distance yourself from these friends?” When is the right time to distance yourself, what would you not be willing to lose because of your friendships, when is the time to walk away, and when is the time to run?

In Philippians 1:13, the apostle Paul says that it has become known to everyone that the reason for my imprisonment, “is for Christ.” Paul had not sold drugs, nor had he stolen anything, he committed any white-collar crime, the reason why he was in jail is because of his relationship with a man known as Jesus Christ. Certainly this Jesus had to have killed someone, I’m sure he must have done some heinous act that caused another to become paralyzed, he must have introduced someone to some sinister acts of demonist behaviors, or maybe he betrayed his closest confidants by becoming a traitor?

As much as we would think that this had to be the reputation of Jesus, since Paul was imprisoned because of him. The stark reality is that Jesus did not kill, “he raised the dead,” he did not paralyze, “through His name the lame walked,” he was not a devil worshiper, “He cast out demons,” he wasn’t a sell out, “He was sold out, so that we might have eternal life.”

Much like the days of Paul, being associated with Jesus Christ might cost you something. You might lose some friends, your popularity may dwindle, and public opinion concerning you may diminish, but are any of these things worth you distancing yourself from Him? We must maintain this relationship, no matter the cost. Regardless of how we are perceived by the public, we have to be “down with the King” and everyone must know it. In a day and age when name-dropping has become the norm to get ahead in life, we must never drop the name of Christ unless we really mean it.

To put it plainly, Paul says it like this. “Nothing can separate me from the love of God, through Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:35-39 

There is Power in Positioning

In church on Sunday, I had a chance to speak about the two blind men that encountered Jesus, and received their sight. (Matthew 20:29-34) I cannot help but ponder on the first point I shared with the congregation, “there is power in positioning.” As discussed on Sunday, “our problems may be the things that put us in position to encounter Christ.” Simply put, “God will use anything to get you in a position to encounter the living Christ Jesus.”

Have you ever thought about what it took to get you in the place you find yourself in? School, relationship, finances, sickness, wellness, emotions, death, {to name a few} are places that Christ will pass along during the course of your life. They all have played apart in getting you to the place that you find yourself at ‘RIGHT NOW.’ But God is only interested in one question, that we all must answer, “what place do you find yourself with my Son, Jesus Christ?” Much like trying to find a new home, or moving to an unknown city, or entering into a new relationship, we want to be sure that we are in the “right place.” I will never forget the days of my youth with my best friends Lee and Steve. Before going out to do “WRONG,” Lee’s mother (Mrs. Bobbi) would make us assume the position. We had to stand at the door, hold hands in a circle, and pray. At that time I thought it was nonsense, but now it makes sense. She helped to teach me a position that would always get me before God.

These blind men positioned themselves in a place where they could expect that someone would PASS BY. Their goal was to be close enough, to hear those passing by, and ask for alms. In our relationship with Christ, like these blind, men we must position ourselves close enough hear from, and ask of Christ. We know that these men shouted and shouted all the louder, but they also were close enough to hear His question. This unique interactive moment, between Christ and these blind men would not have happened if they were out of position.
I am reminded of God’s passionate pursuit of Adam and Eve. (Genesis 3:9-11) After they had eaten of the fruit, and were forced to hide, for fear of their nakedness, the first thing He asked was, “where are you?” The omnipotent God was keenly aware of the answer, but He wanted Adam and Eve to understand their “position.” My family, friends, acquaintances on behalf of almighty God, may I ask a question, that he wants us to give strong consideration to, “In relation to His sacrificial Son, where are you and what’s your position towards Him?” This will determine whether we are passionately pursuing Him or aimlessly avoiding Him.

Lets get in the right position today.

Bless you family!!!!!!