The translators of our Bibles tell us that
the thing for which Esau traded his birthright to his brother Jacob was a bowl of lentil soup. The King
James that I grew up with reads “a mess of pottage”, and I still get a kick from that
now-anachronistic and quirky turn of phrase.
Oddly, there is even a Wikipedia entry for “mess of pottage” that nails the concept perfectly:
“A mess of pottage is something
immediately attractive but of little value taken foolishly and carelessly in
exchange for something more distant and perhaps less tangible but immensely
more valuable.”
Those followers of
Christ who look primarily for blessing in this world are making the same sort
of trade Esau did.