When he comes in from hunting, famished to the point that he feels as if he might die, he quickly exchanges his birthright as firstborn for a bowl of soup. It is an easy exchange for him because his birthright means nothing to him. If Esau is the consummate man of physical appetites, Jacob is the one who strives after something more. He is looking for something that has been denied him by his father's indifference. He cares about spiritual matters.
Material things are just tools for higher values.
Life is measured not just by our nature and our nurture, but by what we choose to do with our lives. The crisis moment for Jacob comes when his emotionally withdrawn father and his overpowering mother leave the young man with the choice of either defying his mother's plan or deceiving his father's intent to bless Esau. He will choose to follow his mother's lead but it will leave him with guilt towards his father and his brother for the next twenty years. Jacob was a rascal and in that sense was not the most attractive and winsome agent of God. The challenge of today's story about the rascal Jacob and the rascal steward is for all of us to care more about the kingdom of God.