A story is told of a man who loved old books. He met an acquaintance who had just thrown away a Bible that had been stored in the attic of his ancestral home for generations. “I couldn’t read it,” the friend explained. “Somebody named Guten-something had printed it.” “Not Gutenberg!” the book lover exclaimed in horror. “That Bible was one of the first books ever printed. Why, a copy just sold for over two million dollars!”

His friend was unimpressed. “Mine wouldn’t have brought a dollar. Some fellow named Martin Luther had scribbled all over it in German.”

This man treated as worthless that which was valuable. So did Esau. Although he was a nice fellow who enjoyed hunting and fishing and the great outdoors, Esau was “profane” because he sold his spiritual birthright “for one morsel of food” (Heb. 12:16). Only when it was too late to undo his wretched bargain did Esau realize that he had sacrificed the permanent on the altar of the immediate.

We had better be careful of the “bargains” we make in life. Our culture places a high price tag on what is worthless and throws away as worthless what is of eternal value.

Ask the Lord to help you discern what’s worth keeping and what is best discarded.