Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1908-01-30

always With a certain contempt, and
with all our appreciationsof his x9J
natural Qualities, his cou Fra 5e~s saIll
frankness and good humor, we cam
not help sharing in the contempt.
The man who has no self-contrel,
who is swept away by every passion
OF the moment, whose life is bounded
by sense, who has no appreciation Of
the higher and larger things which
call for self-control-that man is,
after all. only a superior sort OF ami
NAL, and not always SO very superior
at that. The author of the Epistle to
the Hebrews calls Esau "a profane
person, who for one morsel Of meat
sold his birthright." "Profane. !.
means not blasphemous, but simply
secular. man who is not touched to
fine issues, Judging things by coarse
earthly standards, without spiritual
aspiration or insight, feeling every
sting of flesh keenly, but with 70
sting OF soul toward God. Bold and
manly and generous and with many
splendid constitutional virtues he may
be; but the man himself lacks sus-
ceptfbility TO the highest motives OF
life. He is easily bent by ever, wind
OF impulse, and is open without de-
Tense to animal appetite. Ee is capa-
BILE Of despising the intangible bless
ing Of s'lcn thing as a birthriglt,
even though ne feel it to be holy
| thing, because he cannos withstand
present need. A profane, a secular
person as Esau, is the judgment o.,
| the New Testament.
This scene where he surrenders his
birthright did not settle the destiny
| of the two brothers; a compact like
| this could not stand good forever, and
in some magical way substitute Jacob
! for Esau in the line OF Gods great
religious purpose. But this scene,
! though it did not settle their destiny
| in that sense, revealed their charac-
| ter, the one essential thing which
was necessary for the spiritual sue
cession to Abraham; and Esau failed
here in this test as he would fah
| anywhere. His question to reassure
| himself, What profit shall this births
right do to met" reveals the bent OF
his life, and explains his failure. True
| self-control means willingness to re-
sign the small for the sake OF the
| great, the present for the sake of the
future, the material for the sake OF
| the spiritual; and that is what faith
makes possible. OF course, Esau did
/
| grasping at the small At the mo-
ment the birthright, Just because 1t
was distant, appeared Insignificant.
! He had no patience to wait, no faith
| to believe in the real value OF any
/ thing that was not material, no self
| restraint to keep him from instant
surrender to the demand for present
| qualification.
This is the power Of all appeal to
passion--that it is present. with us
now, to be had at once. It is claim
| ant, imperious, insistent, demanding
to be satisfied with what is actually
present. 1t has no use for far-ofE
| good. It wants imm ediate profit.
/ This is temptation, alluring to the
eye, whispering in the ear, plucking
| by the elbow, offering satisfaction
now. Here and nQw-not hereafter;
this thing, that red pottage there,
/ not an ethereal. unsubstantial thing
| like birthright. What is the good
OF it if we die? and We are like to die
il we do not get this qualification the
/ senses demand. In the infatuatiOn OF
4 appetite all else seems small in COM
parison; the birtnrignt is poor thing
compared with the red pottage.
It is the distortion o. vision which
passion produces, the eyaggeration OF
the present wnie-1 tsuptation creates
making the small look like the greac,
and discrediting the value o. the
thing lost. TIE vivid, 1urid descrlp-
! ton in the Proverbs OF the young
man, vo.d Of understanding, shared
in the street. by ti1e strange woman
/ gives both these elements OF the eT-
feet of passson-sne weak surrender
to impulse and the distortion OF Wis
ion which blinds to the real value O.
what is given up for the qualification:
4He goeth st-aigntway as an OK gosIf
| to the slaughter, till dart strike:
through his liver; as bird hasteti
to the snare. ard knoweth not tha
it is for his life"
But it. is nos merely lack OF self
control which Esau displays by TIT
question OF our text. It is also 1acs
az appreciation o. spiritual values
In vague way he knew that tn:
birtnrfgi1t meant religious blessing
and in the grip OF his temptation tina
looked to him as purely sentiment
not to be seriously considered as o.
ear with material advantage
The profane man, the secular man
may not be Just a creature OF i'm
nnlse: he may have his impulses i
GOOD control, but he has no plac
for what is unseen. Ee asks, natuz
allv. Wnas shall it profit? Men Wn
srdge by the eye, by material re
turns only, VINO are frankly secular
think themselves great judges G
profit: and they, too, wou1d not max
, mach os birthrfght if it meant onI
something sentimental, as they Woul
call It. The real and net the idea
thu actual and not the visionary, ta
t1;ns seen and not the thing unsee
: they would not hesitate more tn
Esau over the CHOICE between To
Il pcttage and the bffthrlght lne
? :udge by suDstanee,aEd co not VI
de-stand about the faith Wnlcn Is = =
substance Of things hoped Iors -