“May He give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham.”     Genesis 28:4 (NIV)

     In Isaac’s blessing to Jacob, he reminded his son of the blessing and the land he would inherit as a descendant of Abraham.  Isaac told Jacob that he was already living in his inherited land – as an alien.

     We know that there is a big difference between being an alien and being a resident or owner.  Residents or owners are afforded privileges and perks that aliens cannot use.  Residents or owners belong and cannot be displaced, while aliens are only allowed temporary access.

     As Christians, we are the descendants mentioned in the verse.  We have that same blessing.  However, like Jacob, many of us are living as aliens in the land that belongs to us.  How different would things be if we only realized that we are not alien tenants but actually owners of the blessing?

     But do we act as owners, or have we grown accustomed to the alien mindset?  What changes should we put into place to move into the owner mindset?  Let’s look at three changes that will help us claim our blessing.

Separate ourselves

     Living as aliens, many of us have relaxed and conformed to our environment.  While we still know right from wrong, we have allowed some “little” sins to take place in our lives.

     But sin is sin, and there is no “little” sin that God approves.  God deals harshly with sin.  We can see one example in Number 16:20-35.  God separated Moses and Aaron’s camps from the tents of the wicked.  God then destroyed the sinners in His contempt.

     We have to take sin seriously.  Sin can block our blessings.  We have to be mindful of the company we keep so that we do not find ourselves slowly conforming to sinful ways.  Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world…” (NIV)

Trust God

     We know from our reading that the blessing and the land are gifts from God.  We belong to a generous Creator, yet we continue to operate from a lack of trust.

     Since God is our Creator, He knows how to find every blessing that He has in store for us.  But we choose to wander aimlessly in search for the blessings.  Why not seek the help of the One who holds the map?

     In our humanness, we think we are in control.  But that cannot be further from the truth.  In every financial situation, we should make sure that our plan of action lines up with God’s Will.

Be obedient

     Are we willing to move out of the driver’s seat so that God can direct our paths?  After we seek God’s help, we actually need to follow it.

     Sometimes, God’s Will isn’t exactly what we had in mind.  That shouldn’t change our response.  The Bible shows us what happens when we disobey.  Remember the Israelites who wandered in the desert for 40 years.  Remember that Jonah’s disobedience landed him in the belly of a whale.  We can do things our way, but it only makes it more difficult.

     Sometimes, we think we want something.  It can have really great appeal.  But we really don’t know if the blessing that the Lord has for us is better.  Given His immense love for us, despite all of our flaws, it would be hard to believe that it’s not better.  But the only way that we can truly find out is by separating ourselves, trusting Him, and being obedient to His Will.

“Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him.  He said to himself, ‘The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.’”     Genesis 27:41 (NIV)

     After Esau had been deceived twice by his twin brother, Jacob, he became extremely bitter.  He could not get over the fact that he lost his birthright and his father’s blessing.

     There are things in our lives, too, that we feel entitled to.  Sometimes, when those things do not come to pass as we expected, we also become bitter.  At times, that bitterness is directed toward one person that we feel wronged us.  Other times, we let anyone who crosses our path feel the wrath.

     That is not the way that God wants us to live.  Ecclesiastes 8:10 tells us to “…banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body…” (NIV)  Let’s look at three ways to keep grudges from stealing our joy.

Stop comparing ourselves to others

     Esau spent a lot of time comparing himself to his brother, Jacob.  He saw what Jacob had and felt it should be his.  In actuality, that may have been the original intent.  But that is not what came to pass.

     In life, things change.  In fact, there is a saying that the only constant is change.  People are born and people die.  Jobs come and go.  As Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, there is a time for everything.

     For example, motherhood caused me to rethink my career path.  With an infant, it was not in our best interest for me to have a career that required me to spend the majority of my time on the road.  But that doesn’t mean that become bitter about the course my life has taken.  It doesn’t mean that I envy other people who can do that.

Count our own blessings

     Rather, I should embrace the direction that God has allowed my life to take.  I should find the pleasure that my new circumstances can bring.  In my situation, I may not have that job on the road, but I have a new person in my life to love.  God has entrusted this person to me to teach her His truth and to help encourage her in discovering her purpose in God’s Kingdom.

     Life may take a different turn than we planned, but God is still in the driver’s seat.  We know that He will make sure that everything works together for good.  Let’s not focus on our lack.  Let’s, instead, think of all the things we do have.

Focus on eternity

     Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 8:8, “However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all.  But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many.  Everything to come is meaningless.” (NIV)

     While God means for us to enjoy our time here on earth, we have to remember that there is a bigger picture.  This is only the beginning.  Even as we age, as our bodies grow old, we are not getting closer to the end of our lives.  As Christians, we will have an eternity in heaven with our Father.

     Why should we spend so much time harping on the things we didn’t have or didn’t accomplish in a temporal world?  In the grand scheme of things, will it matter?  Will those acquisitions or accomplishments mean anything when it comes to furthering the Kingdom of God?

     In the natural, it is not always easy to avoid envy and grudges.  But, we can always ask God to meet us in our weakness to help us focus on Him.

“He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.”     Genesis 26:14 (NIV)

    In this verse, we see that Isaac’s success and ability to accumulate lots of possessions led others around him to look at him with envy.

     Before we go further, let’s take a moment to look at one verse:  Matthew 27:18, “For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.” (NIV)  Envy was a key sin that led to Jesus dying on the cross.

     Envy has been around since the beginning.  Living in such a materialistic society today, it can be easier to get caught up in envy than most of us would like to admit.  Given that, we should be aware of how envy can devastate us and our households.

Envying others

     If we are like the Philistines of this key verse and hold envy toward others in our hearts, we might find ourselves trying to keep up with the Joneses.

     This type of behavior can be addictive, and it is possible that we would continue to buy (or finance) things even when we can’t afford to do so.  This can result in financial strain and ruin for the entire household.

     The Bible warns us against this type of envy.  James 3:16 tells us, “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” (NIV)

     Do we really want to bring disorder into the lives of our family members?  Do we want to surround them with evil practices?  Envy can have almost a domino effect on our households.  Something that starts out so small can compound and bring about a huge disaster.

     Solomon shares some words of wisdom in Proverbs 23:17.  “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.” (NIV)  Rather than looking to men, we should focus on our God.

Others envying us

     While we may not have a problem with being envious of others, we must still be cautious of how we respond when others envy us.  If we are not careful, we can internalize others’ envy of us.  That can lead us to being too prideful.

     God doesn’t like prideful people.  It does not get much clearer than Proverbs 8:13, which says, “…I hate pride and arrogance…” (NIV)

     God considers pride to be a form of disobedience, and He warns us about His punishment for disobedience.  Leviticus 26:19 reads, “I will break down your stubborn pride…” (NIV)

     Isaiah 2:11 tells us that a day will come when we all will be humbled.  It is God alone who should be exalted.

     Let’s not let our successes and our possessions cause us to forget that we are still sinners.  Everything we have, and everything we have done, comes from God.  Regardless of how easy or difficult it was to acquire the things we have now, they can all be easily taken away.

     Let’s aim for humble hearts and a passion for seeking to grow closer to our Savior.  Without Him, nothing else matters.  “Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honor and life.”  Proverbs 22:4 (NIV)

     While some media have pushed annuities as bad investments, we know that they do serve a purpose.  However, there are many other financial decisions that have far worse repercussions.  We will look at two money problems that have caused serious damage for many households over the years:  credit card cash advances and advance tax refunds.

Credit card cash advances

     This money problem was a nightmare for me personally.  I remember the first time that I found out that credit cardholders could pull cash off of their credit cards.  At that time, there were still quite a few retailers that did not accept credit cards, so I thought I had hit the jackpot.

     I went into a bank to pull the money off of the card.  The teller was really nice.  She helped me quickly, and I was on my way to do more shopping.  I didn’t get the bad news until about two or three weeks later when the bill arrived.

     Bad news #1 was that there was a fee to access the cash on the credit card.  At the time, the fee was 2% of the amount accessed from the card, or $20, whichever was greater.

     I’m sure the teller disclosed that to me during the transaction, but I was probably in a daze and failed to actually interpret what she was saying.  So, my $200 cash advance cost me $20 right away.  Rather than a 2% fee, that actually worked out to 10% for me.  That was not a good start.

     Bad news #2 was that the interest rate on a cash advance was higher.  For me, it was 22.9%.  My regular purchase interest rate was about half of that.  So, I was basically double charged.  If I consider the access fee of 10%, I was charged about three times the normal interest rate.

     Needless to say, I only did that once.  Unfortunately, many of us don’t read the fine print in our credit card usage agreements.  We also do not analyze our credit card statements to even know if and when something like that is happening.

     We need to take special precautions when it comes to the fees we agree to pay.  More often than not, the things we choose to spend the money on are not worth the extra cost.

Advance tax refunds

     This is another concept meant to take advantage of those in dire straits.  I think that we can honestly address this topic by asking ourselves one question:  Why should we pay extra to get something that already belongs to us and is already on its way?

     We get so caught up in the need for instant gratification.  However, we shouldn’t be so eager.  Proverbs 28:20 said, “A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.” (NIV)

     Let’s make a better effort to properly plan for our spending, as well as our tax preparation, so that we do not find ourselves wasting our money on rush services.  There are so many better uses for our financial resources.

“Jacob replied, ‘First sell me your birthright.’  ‘Look, I am about to die,’ Esau said.  ‘What good is the birthright to me?’  But Jacob said, ‘Swear to me first.’  So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.  Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew.  He ate and drank, and then got up and left.  So Esau despised his birthright.”     Genesis 25:31-34 (NIV)

     After looking at Jacob and his unhealthy way of reaching for his goal, I wanted to spend some time with his twin, Esau.

     As I mentioned before, the sibling rivalry between these twins was incredible.  It appears, too, that, in every battle between the brothers, Esau always gets the raw end of the deal.

     In this particular verse, Esau has been talked out of his birthright.  He sold it to his brother, Jacob, for some bread and a bowl of stew.

     The earlier verses of Genesis 25 tell us that Esau was a skilled hunter.  He had been out in the open country and was extremely hungry.  As he came back home, he found Jacob cooking some stew.  When he asked for some, Jacob saw an opportunity to take his older brother’s birthright from him.

No recognition of the value

     The interesting thing about Esau’s initial response to Jacob’s request is that he didn’t recognize the true value of his possession.  His question was, “What good is it to me?”

     Granted, at the time, the birthright may not have been able to satisfy his hunger.  But that was a temporal problem.  Esau was holding on to something that went way beyond the temporal.  The birthright was a promise for him and all future generations to come.  In essence, his possession held eternal value.

     How often in our own lives do we look solely at our immediate temporal needs while discrediting our eternal inheritance?

     Esau’s entire family line was stripped of the birthright when he sold it for the bowl of stew.  His decision didn’t just impact him.  It impacted many generations.  Have we spent so much time focusing on our own need for instant gratification that we ended up depriving our children and future generations of promised blessings?

Consider the need for instant gratification in our own lives

     As we meditate on these verses, we should ask ourselves a few questions.  For example, are some of the things that we spend money on really that important?

     Do we need all of the latest technological gadgets?  Do we need all of the cable channels that we pay for?

     Do we need to trade our car in for a newer model when there is nothing wrong with the one we’re driving?  Do we need a bigger house?

     Do we need to eat out – again?  Do we need to buy “premium” coffee?

     Is it possible that there are better uses for some of our money within our own household?  Could we pay off debt faster?  Could we redirect it to help our children pay for college?

     Is it possible that there are better uses for some of our money within God’s Kingdom?

     It takes patience to get to our inheritance.  We cannot allow the enemy to trick us into thinking that we cannot move beyond our temporal, fleshly desires.  As Paul says in Hebrews 6:12, “…you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.” (NLT)