How to Beat Temptation

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV

Have you ever acted on an impulse without thinking about the outcome down the road? 

I know that I have many times, but I as I am getting older and I hope wiser too, I am learning to think about what this decision will cost me down the road a bit. This is exactly what happened to Esau.

Esau was hungry, and at the time he was only thinking about his immediate needs, he did not "Play the tape forward", he wanted to satisfy his needs NOW. Esau even commented that he is going to die, and what good would a birthright be if he were dead. I believe that in his mind he was convincing himself to sell the birthright, I doubt that he was going to drop dead on the spot, he could have waited a couple of hours to cook himself some of his own stew.

We need not to act on our impulses

We need not satisfy our immediate desire without considering the long range outcome or consequences of our actions. When we see something we want, our first thought is that we HAVE to have it, I can't live without it. Usually, when we do fall into the temptation it will give us short term satisfaction, but once the newness has worn off we will see how damaging it will become in the future. Just as when Esau ate and drank, I am sure he realized what he had just done, then "Despised" his birthright. Do not fall into the same trap as Esau did, learn to control you desires, figure out what it is you need to do to control your temptations.