What Comes Around…

Genesis chapters 25-30 read like a modern reality show. A man named Jacob deceives his brother Esau (with his mother’s help and prompting) and steals his brother’s birthright and blessing. Esau vows to kill Jacob and their mother Rebekah decides to send Jacob away until Esau cools off. Jacob was her favorite son. What she doesn’t know is that she will never see him again, at least the bible doesn’t record them ever seeing each other. Now Jacob then is deceived by his mother’s brother, Laban, into marrying the wrong woman. Then Jacob’s two wives, Leah and Rachel, get into a “birthing contest” to try to have the most children to win their husband’s affection. Jacob ends up fathering 12 sons by his two wives and their two maidservants. It is just an absolute mess!

The expression, “What comes around goes around” is an expression of the idea of “karma”. I don’t believe in karma but I do think that God often has a sense of humor, or maybe a better way of putting it, that God will often give us consequences for our sin that are similar to consequences that we caused others because of our sin. Jacob deceives Esau and is then deceived by Laban. To avoid these unpleasant consequences, we should obey God in the first place. Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, had been told that her youngest son, Jacob would rule over her oldest son, Esau.   God had already told her this would happen. But she takes matters into her own hands and through sinful deceit, forces the issue and causes trouble for many, many years, even sorrow to her own heart. Let’s let God unfold our lives the way He desires. Don’t force the issue. If you have someone in your life that needs a little “payback” for wrong, don’t take matters into your own hands. Let God take care of it. Letting God take care of it will benefit you and the one you think needs the comeuppance. If you try to “play God”, you’ll just mess it up!