The Lure of Momentary Pleasure

Genesis 25:29-34

You probably read the story of Jacob and Esau today and thought, I can’t believe Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. How foolish! But let’s think beyond birthrights and soup. Is there anything of true value that you are trading for something of lesser worth? In other words, what is your “bowl of soup”?

Have you pursued wealth and a career at the expense of family? Maybe your busy schedule has kept you from spending time with God in His Word each day. Some people become involved in extramarital affairs, trading the well-being of their family for the satisfaction of lustful desires. Others sacrifice their health by consuming harmful or addictive substances, or even by overindulging in food. The list of ways we make foolish, shortsighted choices is endless.

Some of the decisions we make today could rob us of the blessings God wants to give us. When you yield to temptation in a moment of weakness, you’re actually sacrificing your future for momentary pleasure. We can’t afford to live thoughtlessly, basing our decisions on immediate desires or feelings. Since the principle of sowing and reaping cannot be reversed, we need to carefully consider what we are planting. The harvest will come, and we’ll reap what we have sown–and more than we’ve sown.

Are you contemplating anything that could have serious long-term ramifications if you yield to the yearning? A wise person evaluates choices by looking ahead to see what negative consequences could follow a course of action. Don’t let “a bowl of soup” hinder God’s wonderful plans for you.

Dr. Charles Stanley

The Snare is Broken

By David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 - April 27, 2011]

“Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is
broken, and we are escaped” (Psalm 124:7).

Imagine a little bird trapped in the fowler’s net. Lying helpless, its little
heart throbs with terror and its wings beat wildly against the net—to no
avail. The more it struggles, the more battered and bruised it becomes.
Frightened, the bird begins to cry and screech but escape is impossible. It is
completely at the mercy of the fowler.

Beloved, that little bird is you—snared by the net of sin! And the fowler is
the devil, the wicked one. He laid his trap and caught you in it.

Now, consider that trapped little bird. How he could possibly get free by his
own strength and power? If he fights to break through the net, he will become
even more entangled. He may even break a wing or bleed to death. He can’t
deliver himself.

Isn’t this a picture of us when we’re trapped in sin? We make all kinds of
promises to God. We struggle and cry, trying to break free from our bondage.
But we have lost our freedom and remain trapped!

Think of that little trapped bird again. That night, the fowler goes to bed
dreaming of this special little bird he’s been after. He can hardly sleep and
is anxious to go out the next day and see if he caught it.

As the fowler comes near the trap, he sees it has been sprung and he gets
excited. He expects to see a worn-out, bleeding, frightened, half-dead little
bird in the net but, lo and behold, when he examines the trap, he sees the net
is torn, broken. The bird has soared!

We find the little bird perched on a limb in a tree high on God’s mountain.
He’s free, and his wounds are healing—all because the Lord came and ripped
open the net!

That little bird is saying to itself, “If it had not been for the Lord—if He
had not rushed to my side—I would have been swallowed up and devoured. But
God broke the snare and plucked me out of the trap!”

The snare is broken—and we have escaped!