Biological Truth through a Biblical Lens: Lessons from Esau.
In the Bible, in Genesis 25, we read the story of Jacob and Esau. They were brothers. Esau was a skillful hunter. Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. Esau was loved by his father Isaac because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
One day, Jacob was cooking stew and scripture says Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted(Gen 25:29). Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat of some of that red stew, for I am exhausted."
Jacob said, "Sell me your birth right now."
Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is my birth right?
And in that moment of weakness, not thinking about the future repercussions of his decision, Esau allowed Jacob to convince him to sell his God designed birth right and he bought into a false narrative that a quick fix solution was more important than the plans God had for his life.
And the closing of the chapter says "Esau despised his birth right."
Later, we witness another encounter between Jacob and Esau. In this instance, he watched as Jacob manipulated his way to receive a blessing that was meant for him, and scripture says, "Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him." He hated him so much, he planned to kill him.
Resentment began to grow and took root in Esau's heart.
That resentment began manifesting as fruit through Esau's actions.
Eventually time went on and Esau forgave Jacob (Gen 33). But he is still used in the New Testament as someone we should learn from, as scripture says, "See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau..."
In light of this, what can we learn?
For starters, lack of physical and spiritual nourishment makes us vulnerable to temptation and changes our view of the world around us. It will lead us to buy into a false narrative, instead of God's narrative. This happens due to the fact that we begin viewing the world through a lens of survival mode, and as a result, it impacts our thoughts, behaviors, and actions and gives Satan a playground to work in.
The story of Esau is a perfect example of that.
If we look at what was biologically happening in Esau's body during that time, I believe it can give us some insight and compassion. When humans are hungry, it can cause stress hormones to rise and this impacts their beliefs + actions. In Esau's case he was hangry after being in the field all day and it was impacting his mood + behavior + decisions + actions. But here is the thing for modern day living:
You do not only get hungry when you are underfed, you also get hungry at a cellular level when you are overfed and under nourished by choosing nutrient poor foods or over indulging in toxic food that doesn’t nourish you or dealing with poor gut health + absorption of essential minerals.
When we are over fed and under nourished, and struggling with mineral deficiencies, we begin to struggle with blood sugar imbalances which lead to irritability, anger, rash decision making, due to desperate + hangry for food. It can also lead to chronic symptoms that make us feel too exhausted to serve. This is why people who go on a restrictive diet often end up binging. Cellularly, their body is screaming for more food. And physically, their body responds with an urge to binge and often go to great lengths to do so.
So, physically speaks, our biology shows that our state of health impacts the thoughts, behaviors, and choices we make each day...And can sometimes make us very vulnerable to sin.
My question today, in genuine love and concern is:
Do we truly lean into and live in light of this knowledge?
Next, another lesson I believe we can learn is that our core spiritual beliefs guide our thoughts, feelings, behaviors and actions. Esau's view of the world + core belief was unaligned with the power of who God was calling him to be and the narrative he was supposed to be part of. As a result, he missed out on the physical ability to inherit his father's possessions and authority. And the spiritual blessing of being used as an example of who to be. Instead of understanding the value and power of his birth right, his core belief was: "I am going to die anyway, why does my birth right matter?"
Out of desperation (lack of physical nourishment) and through the lens of survival, Esau picked a quick fix of satisfying food over his God designed birth right. This is a spiritual concern because God cared about that birthright.
When we are not physically nourished and our spiritual beliefs do not align with who we are called to be, it is a playground for Satan to work with.
It is true that lack of physical nourishment does not always equate a downfall, but it is often only when our core beliefs are aligned. An example of this is Jesus. He was able to fast for 40 days and not be tempted. Am I saying that all of us should be able to do that today? No, but I believe an example we can learn from Him is that He knew His mission to His core, and it penetrated every aspect of His life and so when He was faced with physical temptations, he stood strong. His thoughts, beliefs and actions followed His core belief. Esau's core belief was not aligned + his actions followed.
Modern day, spiritually speaking, when we view life through a lens of survival due to physical and spiritual factors, and do not believe at our core that our God given birth right is more important than any temporary fix the world has to offer, it impacts our thoughts, behaviors, and actions.
Before I escaped living life through survival mode, I was constantly hijacked by my emotions, feelings, and my behaviors followed. It impacted the way I showed up in life, how I treated other people and myself. It made me more vulnerable to sin. And impacted how I viewed my purpose in life. When I broke free, everything changed. The truth is, many today are living in survival mode due to both lack of physical and spiritual nourishment and unknowingly exchanging their birth right for a temporary quick fix and the world is writing an enticing narrative this.
Here is the interesting thing:
If Esau was alive today, the world would likely be quick to diagnose him with anger and depression and blame his behavior on those things. His actions would also likely be chalked up to his trauma caused by his brother taking advantage of his situation and his mother loving Jacob more than him. I am not discounting the role mental health can have on people (I am a huge advocate for getting to the root of mental health problems and have helped many women overcome anxiety, depression, and panic disorders.I have also taken care of those with schizophrenia. They are a real thing). However, I think we have to be careful with the narrative the world is currently writing. We have to be SO careful not to forget that our physical health, external circumstances + spiritual health ALSO play a huge role in our mental health and the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that follow...
When we come to the New Testament, scripture says regarding the story of Esau, "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears." Hebrews 12: 14-17.
How do we apply this in modern day life?
In order to protect our hearts from "roots of bitterness" and the troubled actions that flow from that, we have to take action and be proactive. What does that potentially look like? I think it looks like this for starters: examining our core beliefs + realizing the importance they play while also getting serious about our physical health and honoring the role they both play when it comes to our thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and actions.
Fully believing and aligning our lives with the core belief + truth of our God given birth right and the narrative He is writing: We live in a broken and dying world and have all been separated from God since the fall of man, but because He is loving and faithful, He has given us an opportunity to reunite with Him. His Son, Jesus came to die for our sins, and when we repent + obey the gospel + remain faithful, we have the Holy Spirit living in us and the authority over sin and temptation in our life.
Part of maintaining that authority and resilience involves radical action + taking care of our minds and bodies. This includes taking our thoughts captive, and it also includes paying attention to our physical health because we have a mind, body, and spirit connection. This means being sure to eat foods that support our body + getting in tune with deficiencies and wounds that may be keeping us reactive + being surrounded by other believers for accountability and co-regulation. This also includes a heavy focus on spiritual health and feeding on the word each day to keep our souls in line and our minds focused on our true birth right + narrative + mission we are living in light of.
Are you selling your birthright each day and buying into a false narrative?
Only YOU can answer that, but I hope this gives you a few things to consider and inspires you to get curious about the ways in which your current beliefs + state of physical + spiritual health could be influencing your thoughts, behaviors, and actions.
And a gentle reminder, toxic shame leads to being stuck and stagnant. Repentance is essential, powerful + Biblical, but remember to pair it with compassion, love, + curiosity that gives birth to change + growth. Be sure this is the lens you are viewing this process through.
If you want to dive into the world of nervous system health through a Biblical perspective, and learn how to break free from viewing life through the lens of survival, check out my course, Aligned + Renewed.
