Think about the worst mistake you’ve made. If you’re like me, it probably ranks as the worst because of the fallout it caused. After all, some wrong things we did seem to have had little effect. But the ones that backfired on us we view as the big ones.
The trouble is, we never know which compromises will end up being the big ones.
Reuben, the oldest son of Jacob, blew it big-time. From his example, we can learn to make two daily decisions that can change your past.
More specifically, we can change your past that will be.
As Jacob’s firstborn son, Reuben had the privilege of preeminence among his brothers. That meant after his father Jacob died, Reuben would become the leader.
But Reuben tried to seize the right of the firstborn before it was time by having relations with his father’s wife (Genesis 35:22). Sleeping with the wife of the leader meant he was assuming the leadership role for himself. But Reuben’s presumption backfired. On his father’s deathbed, Jacob uttered these words:
Reuben, you are my first-born; my might and the beginning of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. Uncontrolled as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father’s bed. —Genesis 49:3-4
In taking too soon what would be his, Reuben lost it all. He couldn’t change the past.
It’s tempting to mistake privilege for a guarantee of success. Giftedness, too, can become a handicap if we mix with it presumption. Consider:
In each case, their privilege, gift, or strength, has become their weakness because they neglected obedience in daily decisions.
The tragedy of Reuben’s life is what could have been. Reuben never would have done what he did if he knew the far-reaching the consequences. Reuben shows us, from this one act of insubordination, that we can disqualify ourselves from the benefits our privileges were intended to bring.
But we also see by his example how to succeed in daily decisions.
Even though you can’t change your past that has been, you can realize that one day, even today will become the past. In that sense, you can change the past that will be.
Do that by making two daily decisions:
You can’t change the past, that’s certain. But in your daily decisions you can change your past that will be.
Tell me what you think: What helps you devote your privileges, gifts, or strengths to God’s service? To leave a comment, just click here.