Exchange Rates
“But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright”” Genesis 25:31
Sell – What is your personal investment strategy? Are you in stocks? Bonds? Gold? Do you think about that 401k or SEP? Or is your investment strategy about “bigger” things? Esau didn’t stop to consider a life-long investment strategy. As a result, he couldn’t tell when the exchange rate was completely out of whack. His mistake is a lesson for all of us because it’s about a lot more than inheritance.
Makar is the Hebrew verb for “sell”. It covers all sorts of exchanges. Most of the time it is associated with what we call bartering. I give something in order to get something else. In our world, the commodity of exchange is usually reduced to money. But money is nothing more than folded time and effort. I give time and effort in exchange for money. Then I exchange this folded time and effort to obtain something else produced by time and effort.
Esau and Jacob were brothers. Esau, the first-born, had rights of inheritance. But one day Esau was famished from hunting and Jacob, who was a great chef, presented his brother with an exchange. Esau wanted food. Jacob wanted something else. So he bartered. “You give me your right of inheritance and I’ll give you this food”. And here’s the point of this little story. Esau exchanged the intangible birthright for the tangible sustenance.
This ancient wisdom makes me wary when it comes to my own investing strategy. It demonstrates how easily I am tempted to give away what is intangible but vital for what appears as tangible but appealing. Once I barter the truth of my convictions or the values of my position, I won’t get them back. I will have the tangible goods but they will be of little comfort where my reputation and peace of mind are concerned. If my investment strategy does not recognize the intangible assets absolutely necessary for me to have peace and joy, no amount of folded time and effort will be enough to give me solace.
How does this affect my investing decisions? Would you put your folded time and effort into the hands of an Esau? Or a company with Esau’s values? Are you looking for maximum profits regardless of the consequences or the commodity? Are you willing to exchange what is most near and dear to who you are in order to get what you want?
This verse is the first time the Bible uses makar. Jesus remembered this story. He used the same word (in Aramaic) when he talked about the exchange rate. “And what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). Some things should never be bartered. Do you have your “exempt from exchange” list?
