Esau; the Saga of Seeking Acceptance.
Posted: Sunday, November 23, 2008
by Rodney Biamby
The saga of seeking acceptance from the things we do. I want to examine the relationship of one of two brothers in the bible, Esau. I want to analyze how Esau sought his parents love and acceptance through the things he did. You may lament for Esau in his plight to be loved and by his parents. The truth of the matter is that we at times mirror the behavior of Esau and fail pitifully in our quest to find true love an acceptance. The quest for true love and acceptance can only be found in one person.
...Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game...(Gen 25:28)
Interestingly, Esau recognized that what he did for his father placed him in a position of receiving love and acceptance from Isaac, his father. However, the same love was not reciprocated by his mother,
...but Rebekah loved Jacob...(Gen 25:28b)
The sadness and reality of the biblical account mirrors children in many households who are loved more by one parent and not the other. This dysfunction created by parents within the household creates an atmosphere where children are vying for true love and acceptance of both parents. The unconditional love sought by these children follow them into adulthood where in love and acceptance is not unconditional, but rather subjected to what they can do. His parents should have loved both sons unconditionally,not subjectively.
The biblical account of Esau continues with more mistakes and miscues. He rejects his birthright and sells out in order to please his appetite. The birthright which entitled him to receive his fathers blessings and possessions he sells out for immediate satisfaction, ...thus Esau despised his birthright...(Gen 25:34) the mistakes and miscues continue.
When Esau was forty years old he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. And they were grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah (Gen 26:34,35)
His parents displeased with their son's choices of relationships. Perhaps these choices were masking what he really sought, true love and acceptance, from his parents. Does this sound familiar? What are you masking? Whose love and acceptance are you seeking?
Ultimately Esau was rejected from receiving the birthright blessing and wept bitterly to receive some sort of blessing from his father.
...and Esau said to his father, "Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me-me also, O my father! And Esau lifted up his voice and wept."(Gen 27:38)
His approach to receive blessing, love and acceptance was predicated on the things he did. His confidence relied on what he did, not in the security of his relationship with his parents. Esau's behavior is mirrored in our relationships with our relatives, friendships and those we hold in high esteem.
Relationships which are subjective often make us emotional roller coasters, constantly seeking acceptance in order not to be rejected. However, we find like Esau, when we persist in this type of behavior we ultimately find rejection.
However, Esau did not learn his lesson, but continued in this behavior,
...also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had (Gen 28:8,9)
True love and acceptance are unconditionally found in Christ. It's not what we do for Him, but what He's done for us.
...He made us accepted in the Beloved... (Eph 1:1-6)
***( All biblical references are taken from the New King James Verison)***
This Article has been viewed 726 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)hi rodney,great job, and great morals.it's so hard to be a good parent, remembering all the things you need to take care of, physically and emotionally in order for your children to feel loved and not slighted. it's a lot of work, but it can be done if you are willing to make the sacrifices, and there are many. this was a well wriiten article and it's so good to see you on the columnist page. you deserve to be there.all my best,coachThank you so very much.I'm humbled and grateful for your very kind words.I'm very honored to be among many featured authors like yourself.Thanks for your encouragement to keep on writing.Rodney
Rodney, the title of the article is perfect in telling the story of Esau and you did an excellent job sharing it with your readers. The formatting is inconsistent and I found it difficult to read. If I may offer some suggestions, please: Do not indent the first sentence of each paragraph. But hit enter twice after each paragraph, leaving double line spaces instead of single. Space only once after a period. And finally, be consistent when using bold text. Most of the scriptures are bold and centered except one. That one is aligned left, indented and bold. I feel these suggestions will only improve formatting which obviously do not hinder your gift of expression. They will make it easier for your readers, I feel.
Please accept these suggestions which were given in humility. I enjoyed the article.
Blessings to you and Have a Happy Thanksgiving. - AvisI accept these suggestions happily and they will definately help me as a writer.I'm glad you enjoyed it.Thank youRodney
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.