Living The Complex, Stressful Life
(Genesis 29:31-31:16)
1. One of the stranger creatures in our world is a Tarsier.
2. You can see how weird it looks (Show photo, retrieve from the internet).
“The Tarsier is one of the smallest primates and lives in the forests of Borneo and Sumatra and the Philippines. Tarsiers have a maximum body length of 6⅓ inches and a 10½ inch tail. Their eyes are so large that they would be equivalent to grapefruit-sized eyes in a human being.
Tarsiers, along with animals from the genus Galago, are the only primates able to turn their heads through 180-degrees in each direction. Galagos, known as bush babies, also share the Tarsier’s large eye-to-body ratio. They can be found in sub-Saharan African forests.” [http://www.christiananswers.net/kids/biggest-eyes.html]
3. When seeing the picture of this small creature, I thought, "Hmm. They would probably make great pets. Or aliens. But then I read:
"Tarsiers have never formed successful breeding colonies in captivity, and when caged, tarsiers have been known to injure and even kill themselves because of the stress. [Wikipedia]
4. Some animals do better in captivity than others; some can be good pets, but others cannot.
5. Not all of us handle stress well. A lot of this is based on genetics, although no one really wants to say this. The playing field is not level: we all have strengths and weaknesses, and, generally, great strengths are usually accompanied by great weaknesses. If you have parented a number of children, I do not have to convince you that some of your kids naturally handle stress better than others. Some people handle stress like it is nothing, others are upset at the mere mention of the word "change."
6. But all of us are called to live in a world filled with stress. We don’t have to look for it, it looks for us. It comes at us in varying degrees and sometimes unpredictably. Even if we are not naturally good at handling stress, we are forced to cope or shatter.
42 percent of workers reported that yelling and verbal abuse took place where they worked. * One in ten said that physical violence had occurred where they worked. * 34 percent had lost sleep because of workplace stress, and 23 percent had been driven to tears. * Almost two-thirds, 65 percent, identified workplace stress as a problem for them personally. [sermoncentral]
7. I am among those who do not naturally handle stress well. It is a constant struggle for me, and sometimes I fail -- all too often. But I do a much better job of it than I otherwise would because of what I have learned from God’s Word.
8. Jacob’s life is an example of uncertainty, change, and stress in action -- lots of it.
Main Idea: Jacob lived a stressful life, and so do many of us. Yet we can escape some of the pressures of stress by following the Lord.
I. Jacob’s Life Was Stressful and COMPLEX
A. Jacob produced a LARGE family (29:31-30:24)
1. Leah’s PITIFUL hope to become Jacob’s Favorite (29:31-29:24)
Everyone wants to be loved, and a wife naturally wants her husband to love her more than anyone else. Look at vs. 32, 33,34,35
It is hard not to feel for her.
2. Rachael, Zilpah, and Bilhah produce MORE sons for Jacob (30:1-24)
• You can also feel for Rachael; Jacob loved her, but she could have no children. Look at 30:1-2
• Finally, she gives her handmaid Bilhah to Jacob to have children. This is sort of a surrogate mother sort of thing; Bilhah’s children would be considered Rachel’s.
• Then, to make up for lost ground, Leah gives Zilpah to Jacob to do the same thing.
• Then Rachel finally has children, and Leah begins having children again.
• Talk about stress and tension in the family. What a mess.
3. At this point, ELEVEN sons and probably many daughters
4. One more son, BENJAMIN, would be born later to Rachael
5. This wasn’t just a large family; it was a large, messed up family; Jacob would have to try to quell the constant friction and jealousy between Rachel and Leah.
B. Jacob’s PLAN to accumulate wealth (30:25-43)
1. Jacob doesn’t TRUST Laban
He is ready to move on, but Laban encourages him to stay and accumulate wealth.
They reach an agreement: all speckled and spotted sheep and goats would belong to Jacob. Jacob suggested this, because he knew Laban would accuse him of cheating. This was above board. No one could argue about which livestock were his.
2. Jacob himself is not TRUSTWORTHY
Through selective breeding, Jacob’s flocks are strong and many, while Laban’s were weaker and not as prolific. Jacob is getting rich, and Laban’s sons -- along with Laban -- are jealous.
3. Conflicts are often a matter of PERSPECTIVE
On the one hand, Jacob had abided by their agreement, yet, on the other, he was shrewd and manipulative. One the one hand, Laban changed the agreement ten times over 6 years, on the other, his livestock were not keeping pace with Jacob’s.
The grudges building up between the two of them must have been amazing. Two cheats, one (Laban) worse than the other, but both looking at things from their own perspective. It is amazing they put up with one another for a total of 20 years. How impatient many of us are in comparison.
C. Jacob’s Intention to leave “Laban the DETESTABLE” (31:1-16)
1. Laban was UNREASONABLE
Reasonableness or the lack of reasonableness is a matter of degree; reasonable people try to see things from a variety of angles and try to take their personal self-interest out of the equation.
2. Laban and sons were POLARIZED against Jacob
3. Jacob’s wives agreed: It was time to LEAVE
But the best reason to leave is that found in 31:3 -- God said to!
II. Many of Us Live Lives That Are Too STRESSFUL
A. Some of us do so by CHOICE
Are you the type of person who obligates yourself to more than you can do, and then complains?
Or maybe you cannot tell people "no," so you run yourself ragged, pleasing people.
B. Many of us prefer a simpler life, but CIRCUMSTANCES prevent it
I don’t have to list all things that can go wrong in life or add stress, anywhere from excessive red tape to family problems to health problems to financial problems.
C. Poor DECISIONS can multiply stress
That was Jacob’s story; his poor decision to cheat Esau had long-term ramifications.
D. We can try to reduce STRESS
Time management, learning to confront problems, delegating, get-a-ways
E. It is no sin to be STRESSED, but it is easy to sin when we are stressed
F. We can live life based on PRIORITY (Matthew 6:33)
1. A lot of times, stress calls for us to be decisive, which Jacob is. He decided it was time to go, and he garnered the support of his wives first.
2. But, more important than support was doing the revealed will of God!
3. Which direction do you want to go in life? Your way? The way people are pressuring you? What makes you feel good? God’s way?
4. In Louis Carrol’s book Alice in Wonderland, Alice comes to a fork in the road and doesn’t know which way to turn. She sees the grinning Cheshire Cat and asks which direction she should take. The cat replies, “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” [Sermoncentral]
G. Stress can be both positive or negative; it can drain us, but it can also charge us!
1. Distress -- demotivates us, brings us down
2. Eustress-- motivates us, it is tiring in the short term by invigorating in the long…
• Meeting a challenge
• Coming in first or winning
• Getting a promotion
• Love
• The holidays [source: Wikipedia]
3. Walking with God can be a great source of Eustress…
example: Some of you this week found time in your crazy schedule to listen to your Bible on the MP3. How did you feel afterward?
It’s Wednesday night, and you help with AWANA. It’s been a busy day and you’re tired. But you truck out to church anyway. How do you feel afterward?
Prayer seem like an unappealing, boring thing to do. But you determine to pray, even though you don’t feel like it. Afterward, you feel better.
Jacob lived a stressful life, and so do many of us. Yet we can escape some of the pressures of stress by following the Lord
