Short-Sighted

"Look," said Esau, "I’m about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?" – Genesis 25:32

Despite what you may have heard, being "short-sighted" is not a malady that affects those who, like myself, are vertically challenged. In fact, it is more a condition that affects those who are "eternally challenged."

Esau is a great example. When he traded his rights as the first-born son of Isaac for a pot of stew, Esau allowed his immediate need to cloud his future plans. He was short-sighted in that he neglected to weigh the effects of his selfish decision upon his future descendants.

It is truly unfortunate that short-sightedness often seems to pervade the leadership decisions of those in power, but we have to admit that it is just the natural outcome emerging from the mindset of those who elect them. So many want it all now and are willing to trade tomorrow for a "pot of stew" today.

Even so, a failed nation is not the worst outcome of this disease. Short-sightedness is most devastating when it so blinds a person to the truth that a desire for immediate gratification leads them to ignore the eternity that is certainly to come.

Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die; another's life, another's death, I stake my whole eternity. – Horatio Bonar