The Right Fight

A Quick Look: Genesis 27: 33 – 35 and Genesis 32: 26

Really Read It: Genesis 27: 1 – 40 and Genesis 32: 22 – 32

Memorize: 1 Timothy 6: 12

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Don’t cheat. Don’t lie. Don’t fight. No tricks. No games. No anger.

I am not the first one to give you this list. You heard it from your mom, your dad, your schoolteacher, your Sunday school teacher, your aunt Virginia from Maryland, and your great-aunt Maryland from Virginia. Not to mention Barney, Big Bird, and a myriad of cartoons including squirrels, bears, vegetables, and cars.

But they were wrong. (Sorry, Aunt Virginia.)

They were partly wrong.

Jacob got to be God’s favorite person while he was a cheating, lying, fighting trickster. Part of that is because God is the boss, but there was something about Jacob that God loved, and we should copy it even if Barney doesn’t agree.

Jacob fought.

Many times Jacob fought the wrong way. But he fought for the right thing, and it always worked for him. When he fought the wrong way with tricks and lies, he had to live with the bad side effects. He tricked other people over and over: the stew for the birthright, the Esau costume for the blessing, the goat trick to his boss. His tricks seemed to get him what he wanted. He got stuff with his tricks, but he lost friends and upset family. He had to move across the country to get away from an angry relative. Twice.

The tricks Jacob played on other people were nothing compared to the tricks that came back at him. You get back what you give out could be a whole lesson by itself, and Jacob is a great example of this. Laban tricked Jacob into marrying the wrong girl. I don’t even want to go on vacation with someone I didn’t pick. Jacob got stuck married to Ms. Not-my-choice. To fix it, he just added extra wives. The wife Jacob did choose was a thief and an idol worshiper, but she didn’t tell Jacob about it. Her tricks caused trouble for the whole family. But the final trick was the worst. Nine of Jacob’s sons sold Joseph as a slave. They tricked their dad into believing that he had been torn to bits by a wild animal. Jacob believed the lie and cried over Joseph for over 20 years.

The bad results of Jacob’s tricks cannot be ignored, but don’t let them distract you from his strength. He fought for the blessing of God. He fought to find God. He grabbed on and he held on with all he had. He convinced God that he really wanted Him.

And that is what you must do.

If you fight for a goal on the soccer field but show no fight for God, you don’t really want Him. If you yell with all of your heart at the big show but show no heart for God, you don’t really want Him. A mumbled prayer and a sleepy song show God that you don’t want Him. And God doesn’t push His way in where he is not wanted.

Why does the wimpiest boy always get the Sunday school award? Is it because he is the kid who does the least amount of talking, lying, and fighting? Jacob never would have won that award but he won the favor of God.

God is looking for kids who fight for the right things. God will come close to the kid who fights for Him. The kid who fights to get close to God will see God come down. That kid will be close to God. That kid will get life from God even if Aunt Maryland puts him in time out.