31 But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”
32 And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?”
Genesis 25:31-32
Jacob told his brother to sell him his birthright. Look at the words: “Sell me.” Think about this: If Jacob took time to prepare pottage, don’t you think he must have been hungry as well? He was certainly hungry; but at this point, he saw, in his brother’s uncontrolled appetite, an opportunity to invest in his own tomorrow. He said in effect, “I’m ready to continue in my hunger. I’ll trade my pottage for something better in the future.” What a different approach, diametrically opposite to Esau. People have labelled Jacob as cunning and a schemer ñ we may not all agree on that, but one thing we can give to him is this: he was a tomorrow thinker.
“A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children”(Proverbs 13:22a). Don’t die, and leave debts for your children, rather, leave an investment for them. Invest in your children. Invest in your business. Invest in other people. Invest in your tomorrow. When you make money from a contract. Don’t become the type of businessman that says, “Let’s eat and drink today, for tomorrow we die.” Reinvest in that business that just yielded you a profit, and tomorrow it will yield more.
The story is told of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. Do you know what it means to be prodigal? It means to be wasteful or reckless. Make a decision today not to have the attitude of the prodigal son. Unfortunately, too many believers are just like the prodigal son when it comes to their inheritance.
Those who are not tomorrow thinkers are wasters and therefore lack and insufficiency await them in their tomorrow. Be like Jacob, invest in your tomorrow.
Confession:
I am a tomorrow thinker; I invest in my tomorrow. Abundant provision awaits me because I invest ahead of time. I have tomorrow in sight and I make provision for generations yet unborn.