In Genesis 27, we encounter one of the most controversial family dramas in ancient history: Jacob “stealing” Esau’s blessing. Though helped by their mother, Rebekah.
It is easy you look at this as a story of deception; a closer look reveals a powerful economic lesson about the jungle lifestyle versus the treasury lifestyle.
Esau was a skillful hunter. But he lived a jungle lifestyle: you consume what you kill on the spot. There is no room for preservation; if you don’t eat it, it spoils, or someone else takes it.
Esau suffered from a mindset common to many highly skilled people today. The assumption that whenever he needed food, he would always get an animal.
He didn’t realize that a day would come when time, energy, or circumstances would work against him. On the day Isaac called for a meal, Esau had to start from scratch. He had to enter the bush, find the game, kill it, and bring it back. He was rich in skill, but completely bankrupt in preparation.
The Power of the “Flock” Advantage
Rebekah and Jacob were not hunters. But they understood the power of gathering, managing, and breeding resources. They had a flock.
When the critical moment of opportunity and demand arrived, Jacob didn’t need to pack his bags and head into the wild. He didn’t have to hope for good luck in the bush. He simply walked into his backyard and drew from a well that was already dug.
Preparation always beats desperation.
My friend, there will always be a day of need, and there will always be sudden windows of opportunity. How prepared you are and the size of your treasury at that exact moment will determine whether you maximize the opportunity or watch it pass you by.
So, my advice to you is to delay gratification and build your financial, health, and spiritual flock.
As Bishop Oyedepo once said, and I quote:
You don’t prepare IN war; you prepare FOR war.
Your flock must consist of assets that have high liquidity (you can convert to cash in no time). This include savings, stocks, and more. Capital locked where you cannot touch it in an emergency will still leave you stranded.
I am happy that you are earning high. But if you are empty because you consume everything you make, you are no different from Esau.
Live your life as someone who is constantly expecting the next big move. Start gathering, start saving, and stop consuming the entire hunt. When the day of demand comes, make sure you can draw straight from your flock.
Oluboba Ayodeji