When was the last time an impulsive decision got you into trouble? When
or under what circumstances do you tend to act on impulse? When and why
might we fulfill an urge or desire without thinking through the consequences?
How can we avoid making rash, impulsive decisions in life? Turn with
me to Genesis chapter 25 and read verses 29-34, and then we'll see if
we can't find some answers to these questions as we look at Isaac and
Rebekah's twin boys, Jacob and Esau....
"And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage;
for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said,
Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point
to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said,
Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright
unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he
did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised
his birthright."
Much has taken place in that little paragraph above, amen? Like Esau,
many times we can become too intense and impatient about certain things.
Certain goals become more important to us in one brief moment than they
should. We feel like Esau in that if we don't get what we want right
now we'll just die! The temptation to have what lies before us becomes
a driving force that takes us beyond all sensible and right thinking.
But had Esau just had sense enough to look ahead, he would have probably
acted differently.... What he didn't realize was that in that one impulsive
moment of hunger, he changed every one of his tomorrows by selling his
birthright for a bowl of pottage! Esau carelessly forfeited those important
rights, responsibilities, and honors which were by his birth. His desire
pressured him into distorted thinking... Tomorrow was unimportant to
him, only today mattered and that is what he lived for. Getting through
that short, pressure-filled moment is often the most difficult part of
overcoming a temptation, amen? Oh, how I can relate to Esau!! There
are moments in my past where I have reacted as passionately to what I
wanted as Esau did, and forsook something I didn't understand should have
been very precious to me, and it changed my future entirely. Impulsively,
I too fulfilled my fleshly desires apart from thinking about the consequences
at all, and now I'm left with exactly what Esau was left with - nothing
but regrets!
Proverbs 14:29b, ".....but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly."
This is so typical of how many people live today, amen ladies? Even Christians
live apart from considering the consequences every single decision they
are making will bring into their lives - both now and for eternity! We
have either foolishly forgotten or else have chosen to ignore the fact
that we must one day answer for all we do. It is in keeping this very
thought in the forefront of our minds that we can avoid making impulsive
decisions or fulfilling those urges or desires that ought not to be filled.... God
has made a way for you and I to help ourselves with this problem, to escape
such irresponsible,erratic behavior. He wants us to consistently think
before we act by reminding us of this truth:
"Ecclesiastes 11:9, "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart
cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart,
and in the sight of thine eyes: BUT KNOW THOU, that for all these things
God will bring thee into judgment."
You see ladies, God wants us to live a happy, satisfying life today.
He wants us to rejoice in our youth, He is not some big party pooper sitting
up in Heaven trying to find a way to make us all miserable! Though we
humans only consider the present in our quest for happiness, the Lord
considers something that we tend to overlook - eternity, the future, tomorrow...
Hence, in order for you and I to be truly happy today, we must consider
whether or not we will be happy with the same decision we are making when
tomorrow gets here - namely when we stand before the Lord! Impulse manages
all things badly... If you and I would just realize that we must give
account for everything we do, and allow that truth to help us to do right
today, then we can indeed rejoice in our youth, amen? We are to keep
our accountability to God in our minds at all time!
Leviticus 20:7-8, " Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for
I am the Lord your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I
am the Lord which sanctify you."
How about it dear lady? Is the Lord happy with the decisions you have
made already today? Will you be as happy with them when you stand before
Him all alone to answer for your decisions? If you're anything like me,
you've already discovered that you are happiest when you do what you know
you ought to do, amen?
James 4:17, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not,
to him it is sin."
When I am in the process of doing something that I know is not going to
please God (or please me when I have to answer for my choice one day),
it keeps me thinking about MORE than just the present satisfaction I am
tempted with! It keeps me sober-minded and trains me to think before
I act and to think before I speak. Before it's too late, I can choose
to keep back those unkind words that so easily erupt and come streaming
forth from my heart and quickly make their way up to my lips when I am
upset! Yet it becomes sin to me when I know I ought not to do it. Oh,
it might feel real good to say those unkind words at the time I am upset,
but the pleasure sure doesn't last long, amen ladies? At first we feel
intensely satisfied and sometimes even powerful because we have obtained
what we set out to get. However, when the pleasure of sin disappears,
the dues are extremely high... I find that I am ashamed in the present
when I fail and fall, and I'll also be ashamed about it when I stand before
God and answer for such improper actions in the future! It is when I
first make myself accountable to God every step of the way that I begin
to enjoy true happiness, knowing I have chosen that thing which will please
the Lord, both now and later! This is why God says, BUT KNOW THOU in
the middle of Ecclesiastes 11:9. He encourages us to "think ahead" when
we are tempted to make an impetuous decision, so that when our time comes
to answer for our actions, we will have nothing to fear. It gives us
the strength necessary to do right today and keeps us clean for future
purposes...
Do you really want to forsake the blessings of the Lord??
Joshua 7:13, "Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against
to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed
thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine
enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you."
Ladies, we ought not to be like Esau... He despised his birthright; he
considered his family responsibilities and honors unimportant; he was
simply uninterested in them. What a shame if we were to forsake all of
what being a part of God family affords us for the sake of a brief moment
of personal satisfaction! The heat of the moment burns up more than you
and I realize... We we can go on to live truly happy lives, and be free
from making those feverish decisions in the present that just weaken us
and bring us into trouble later. In so doing, we sanctify ourselves against
tomorrow! All we have to do is keep our accountability to God in mind
at all times, amen?
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
