On the road of life today, be aware that the “greener grass” on the other side might have been spray-painted yesterday.
Genesis 27:34-35
Hoodwinked… Bait-and-Switch… Bamboozled… Conned…
Nobody wants to be the subject of a sentence where those words are used.
But we all have been at one time or another.
Why?
Because the world we live in is a perpetual perfect storm for it to happen.
And two things keep the storm raging… People are deceitful and we are easily swayed by something we think looks better than what we have.
The result is a whole bunch of hoodwinking, baiting and switching, bamboozling, and conning.
And did I mention a whole bunch of misery for those on the receiving end of all that deceit?
Yes, misery… that’s what we have to look forward to when we allow ourselves to be manipulated by the Evil One – the keeper of the perceived greener pasture.
Today’s Tiny Words. Big Life. Bible verse is an account of how deceitful people can be to get what they want – even those we think would be beyond doing something like that.
Isaac, the son of Abraham, was on his death bed. He called on his firstborn son, Esau, to go out and hunt some game and prepare it to his liking. He would then in turn, give him his final blessing – his inheritance.
Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, who favored her son Jacob over her other son, Esau, overheard their conversation. She then called on Jacob and convinced him to trick Isaac into bestowing his final blessing and inheritance on him, rather than Esau.
Isaac, being advanced in age and in poor health, fell for the elaborately planned act of deceit and gave his verbal blessing to Jacob.
Then, Esau came back to the house and prepared the meal as his father had instructed him to do. When he took the food to Isaac, he learned that he had been robbed of his rightful inheritance. He was incensed and vowed to kill Jacob.
Jacob, fearing for his life, fled from his home to escape.
The Tiny Words. Big Life. takeaway is this: Pray for the conviction of any deceit in your heart and ask to be forgiven. Pray to be forthright with people in all matters. Pray to be content with what God has blessed you with. Pray for the wisdom to see through facades which make bad things look good.
And the next time you’re looking at something that you perceive to be greener grass and the person responsible for the pasture keeps going on about how great things are, look in their back pocket for an empty can of spray-paint before reaching in your own back pocket for your wallet!
Genesis 27:34-35
34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!”
35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”