The Esau Syndrome

In the field of Medicine, the use of the term ‘syndrome’ is rife. However, the use of the word is not limited to the field of medicine; it has found usefulness in other spaces – at least conceptually.

We may not readily think of Scriptures when we talk about syndromes, but that’s what we will ponder on shortly.

So, what is a syndrome? The Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines the word Syndrome as:

A set of concurrent things (such as emotions or actions) that usually form an identifiable pattern.

What then is the Esau Syndrome?

Let’s have a quick refresher on the man, Esau: He was the first son of Jacob’s twins, commonly remembered as the man who sold his birthright to his brother in exchange for a plate of food, which ultimately proved to be his undoing.

(Of course, he went on to do other things, becoming the patriarch of a group of people, known in Bible days as the Edomites.)

It was the season of his life when he negotiated with his younger brother that the book of Hebrews calls our attention to. This is where we turn to, in order to get our answer.

Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite.

Heb.12.16 (MSB)

This is the Esau Syndrome: The trading away of God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite.

This is remarkable, that the trade in the Esau Syndrome is between God’s offerings and the demands of our sensual appetites, between eternity and time, between the eternal and the ephemeral.

In the Esau Syndrome, there is a consistent pattern of choosing the gratification of our appetites at the expense of eternal and God-centered desires.

This syndrome has a host of manifestations that characterize it. Major ones include: Sexual Immorality, Profanity and Covetousness.

Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

Heb 12:16 (KJV)

This is a common theme that runs through the Sexually Immoral, Profane, and Covetous. They say to God: ‘You are not sufficient for us. We want something You can’t provide us. We want something other than what You are offering.’

Meanwhile, God’s offer is the offering of Himself.

Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,”

Heb. 13.5 (MSB)

At the heart of it, the Esau Syndrome is a rejection of God in favour of everything else, as dictated by our sin-laden and fallen desires.

What is the treatment regimen for Esau Syndrome?

First; It is to trust God to do a work in our hearts that causes us to desire, esteem, and value Christ as the supreme Joy and Love of our lives.

Second; is to be content with such as we have. To not think that God is withholding something good from us. For there is no good thing that God will withhold from those who love Him.

The third is to recognize that the things of eternity – the things of God – are not always going to be lying around waiting for us forever. Those that despise them run a risk of forfeiting them, or ‘running out of time’.

May God help us and deliver our hearts from the hold and attraction of this world and cause us to see the Glorious and all-together beautiful Jesus. Amen.