Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1868-05-15
SELLING THE BIRTHRIGHT.

There is a legend that Abraham died on
the day that Esau sold his birtbright
Whether true or not, it suggests the real
meaning of the tranasctiOn. The man who
above all Others, preferred the unseen to
the seen, who would resolutely sacrifice the
present to the future, had no place by the
side Of Esau. Selling the birthright was
the sacrifice of heroic faith and steadfast
principle-the assertion of the reckless and
essentially worldly spirit 1t was the pas
5iye profaneuess that undertakes God-giv-
en- prerOgaJives, aud chooses red pottage
rather than the priceless hon0rs Of a spirit
ual inheritance 'He did eat and drink,
and rose up and went his way Thus Esau
despised his birthright
The world is a vast market-place. Large
sales and small profits is the motto. Feed
me with the red, red pottage" Here
you have my principles my prospects, my
soul. Let US take some account of these
sales.
J. Every one comes into the world with
a certain faculty OF work and enjoyment en-
folded IN his organization. Every one Is
endowed with certain powers of mind.
adapted either to business, study, or art.
Each one Is gifted with peculiar qualities of
heart, for the features Of the soul are as
characteristic as those of the face Above
all. there resides in every one a suscepti-
bility for the true, the pure, and the good
the mysterious and sacred possibility of a
nobler sonship But all these natural gifts
may be frittered away by misuse A vigor-
Gus constitution is broken down by yielding
to the clamOrs Of appetite Splendid talents
are degraded to imbeciity by idleness and
dissipation. Amiable dispositions are ruin
ed by want Of self-cOntrol. To read the
vile literature that hides from the eye Of de
cency and steals snake-like through the
post-office is to sell the birthright of purity
that cannot be rCgained by tears For the
cheap qualification Of cayling against the
clearest evidences Of truth, the capacity to
perceive its existence is extirpated. By
barricading the approaches to conscience
and entrenching the heart in prejudice, one
loses the essential element of truthfnlness
This is the profaneness of Esau.
, 1t is the lot of some to fall into the
arms of wealth. perilous privilege, but
still lraught with noble possibilities. The
agencies Of education, ike mighty wave
rolling from the past, are ready almost as
soon as we are launched into life to bear US
on to a worthy manhood In numberless
instances the inheritance Of a Christian
training, pure example, and the guiding
Of watclfful love await US.
life begnneth as a little path,
Edged with the violet and primrose
A little path awny grass,
And soft to tiny feet"
Aud it seems to open out into the way that
leads to the celestial paradise But all these
are prospective possessions. They are sub
ject to he hazards Of freedom. The young
man leaves his home and plunges into the
world How richly freighted, but how un
conscious Of his wealth Free, frank, good.
natured, hungry with curiosity, he is tempt.
ed to sell out his convictions to see the
world Fckle and unsteady, he breaks
loose from all restraints and barters his al
/ for pottage.
g. The opportunities for becoming Z
Christian are a priceless birthright We
I find ourselves in front of an open door. A
4 thousand attractions cluster round th,
cross. A cloud Of alluring witnesses enyi
4 ron us. Esau inheritance was chiefly il
/ the remote future; ours is an estate in hand
+ Millions have been born to soon. To-day j
4 the climax of centuries. Beware, then, haq
1 you trife With the golden opportunity Al
/ evening merriment friendship, a husi
i ness project, is the pottage,