Now before you think this is a Safaricom promotional message, today’s reflection comes from 1 Peter 4:10 – Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

For contrast, let us first of all go back in time to the days of akina Jacob and Esau. Genesis 27:39-41 Esau has just been ‘Kanairode’ out of his blessing and he is furious. His dad tells him,

…Your dwelling will be

away from the earth’s richness,

away from the dew of heaven above.

40You will live by the sword

and you will serve your brother.

But when you grow restless,

you will throw his yoke

from off your neck.

We see that Esau holds a grudge against his bro and vows to kill him. Of course when he was making this vow, the revelation of what his dad had told him had not hit him ….”You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.”

Living by the sword means relying on violence, aggression, or cutthroat tactics to achieve goals. When Jesus is arrested, He warns Peter that those who live by the sword will die by the sword.

Going back to our Jacob and Esau story, we see that as a result of his grudge against Jacob, Esau’s life would rely on violence, aggression or cutthroat tactics to achieve his goals. And that is equated to serving his brother in a negative sense, since he(Jacob) would occupy a good chunk of real estate in his(Esau) mind. A yoke on the neck you might call it.

But there is good news, later on in Genesis 33, Jacob and Esau meet and it is clear that the revelation of what his dad had told him had hit him, some time between these 20 years they were apart. He had grown restless and thrown that yoke off of his neck. And he was clearly dwelling in the earth’s richness and near the dew of the heaven above.

Yesterday we saw that living in darkness also means that you are not living to your fullest potential. Now when you enter salvation, there are gifts that you receive, which you are meant to use to serve others as the faithful steward of God’s grace that you are. (Positive service) which means that you don’t have to rely on violence, aggression or cutthroat tactics to achieve your goals, but rather, The Word.

Now you might have received salvation, but you are still yoked to some people in your life, and your life feels like you are currently living by the sword, away from the earth’s richness and away from the dew of the heaven above. You might be managing it somehow through some coping mechanisms, but is it really sustainable?

Have you received Jesus as your personal saviour? And if so, which service are you subscribed to?

Why not choose the better option?