Self-Controlled

DEVOTION

GENESIS

SELF-CONTROLLED

Gen 28:6-9

6 Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman," 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; 9 so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.

NIV

How could Esau be so spiteful? It would seem he had made only one mistake that is recorded for us. This was the time he sold his birthright for a cup of soup. Surely he thought at the time it was worth it, but as his life developed he realized he had drawn the short straw. Although he was his father’s favorite son and he certainly was going to have the firstborn blessing as soon as he hunted some game and prepared it for his father, he was cheated out of that blessing by his brother. It seemed at every turn Esau was a disappointment to his mother, as she clearly favored Jacob. Now again he hears that Jacob received another blessing from their father and was being sent to marry from their mothers clan because she was so disgusted about his choice of wives. But because his father sent Jacob, even though it was for the pleasure of Rebekah, to Laban’s household to take a wife, Esau went to his great uncle Ishmael to get another wife. This is clearly a spiteful act. This was one of those, “I’ll show you” moments. Spiteful, revengeful, obstinate, get even attitudes are dangerous to relationships as well as to the owner of such thinking. He might have thought he was hurting his father and mother, but in all actuality he was doing more harm to himself.

Lev 19:18

18 "'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

NIV

Esau clearly was in violation of how God wanted him to live, even though his act was before the Lord spoke these words to man. His word is eternal and was there before it was recorded and thus Esau was indeed in violation of the will of God. This is our lesson. We should not allow situations in life, actions by others, to cause our seeking any form of revenge, or responding in a spiteful manner.

Rom 12:17-21

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge , my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."   21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

NIV

Esau surely felt evil had been done to him, and he responded with evil. We are admonished to respond to evil toward us with good. We are warned to not repay evil with evil, to not respond out of spite, hurt feelings, even anger, seeking some type of revenge, to attempt to get even. In fact we are told our response should be quite the opposite of how we have been mistreated. Esau was a self-centered man, which we cannot afford to allow to be our way of life. That one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit regarding being self-controlled speaks directly to these types of attitudes. If we are not in control of our self, it takes the center stage of our thought process. The self wants revenge, it wants to get even, and it carries out either spiteful words or deeds in order to satisfy itself. We need to control the self as much as it is possible as far as it depends on us. But we need to submit to the Spirit so that he can bring about the desired good behaviors, responses in our lives. The self says, “You hurt my feeling”, “You mistreated me”, “You wronged me”. The self is always thinking about itself. Yet here we are being told to set self aside and act in a Christlike manner, overcoming evil with good. That seems easier said than done. But with the power of the Spirit, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. That includes being self-controlled.