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What Do You Mean By Sell Out?
To sell out is like telling a person to put a blindfold on your face and then take you wherever he wants to. A sell-out is a traitor, a person who compromises their personal values, integrity, talent, etc., for money or personal advancement. To sell out is to do something that shows you no longer have the same moral principles that you used to have.
Google story of how they were about to sell out To Yahoo!
Google owners Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1999 wanted to sell out their company to a competing search engine “Excite” i.e what we know today as Yahoo! for a sum of $1 million. Their reason for this was they just wanted to get back to their Stanford PhDs. Their offer was rejected by Yahoo! but by 2004 google was worth over $23 billion and today 2023 is almost worth two trillion dollars ( $1332 billion). Just imagine they sold out! Just imagine Yahoo Has a net worth of $4.83 billion by now and Just imagine if they bought google!!
Examples Of Bible Characters Who Didn’t Sell Out
In the Bible, we see countless examples of people who refused to sell out, even when faced with great adversity. For instance:
- Joseph (Genesis 39:9-12)
When he was sold into slavery by his own brothers and later faced with the temptation to sleep with Potiphar’s wife, he stood firm in his faith and refused to compromise his values. And God rewarded him for his faithfulness, elevating him to a position of great power in Egypt (Genesis 41:42-44 ).
- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Daniel 3: 6,14,16 )
They refused to bow and worship the golden statue and were thrown to the fire.
- Daniel( in Daniel 6:16)
He was thrown into the den of lions for refusing to worship idols and instead worshiped his true God
- Jesus
When he was faced with the temptation to abandon his mission and worship Satan in exchange for worldly power, he instead chose to remain faithful to God’s plan, even if it meant his suffering and death on the cross.
Examples Of Bible Characters Who Did Sell Out
In the Bible, we see countless examples of people who sold out, even for their own gains and not for the sake of the Kingdom of God. For instance:
Judas Iscariot one of Jesus’ disciples sold out his master Jesus and later lost his life after that (Matthew 26:15), Just imagine as a treasurer he used to steal more than this on a regular basis (John 12:4-6,29).
Esau Sold Out His Birth right!
Genesis 25:32
Because Esau disregarded God’s law he ended up selling out his birth rite, and marrying women from outside Israel, which was something they were not supposed to do and as a result, he suffered a lot as we see in the Book of
Hebrews 12:15-17.
No wonder we hear of the phrase God of Abram, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 3:6), after Esau sold his birth rite then he lost favor with GOD (2 Kings 13:23). According to the Jewish custom “The first-born son had allotted to him also a double portion of the paternal inheritance,” “he became the priest of the family,” and “he inherited the judicial authority of his father.”
That is why we see in the Book of Genesis 27:34-35 Esau lost his blessing to his brother. God chose Jacob although he was a flawed man but willing to do everything within his power to carry out God’s command and his promise to Abram and Isaac.
How Often Do We Sell Out Our Birth right for Soup?
Most of the time we end up doing the same, We don’t follow through with God’s plan for our lives we forget that God has a good plan for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11); So don’t cut shortcuts, cheat here and there, and end up changing God’s original plan by selling ourselves out all manner of things (Ecclesiastes 7:29). Afterall, “there is a way which seems right to a person, but eventually it ends in death” (Proverb 16:25).
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 16:18 that “pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” When we allow our pride to take over and we begin to think that we can do things our own way, we risk falling into the trap of selling out. We may compromise our beliefs or values to gain the approval of others, to fit in with a certain crowd, or to achieve a certain level of success. But in the end, these temporary gains will only lead to our downfall.
Just like Esau most of us sell out for things we should run away from, and no wonder the Bible says in the Book of Philippians 3:19,21, “They are going to end up in hell, because their god is their bodily desires. They are proud of what they should be ashamed of, and they think only of things that belong to this world. Everyone else looks after his own interests, not after those of Jesus Christ”.
Remember that is why God reminded the children of Israel not to sell out when they entered Cannan land as we read in the Bible in the Book of Deuteronomy 8:10,” When you have eaten all you want, thank the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you don’t forget the LORD your God. Don’t fail to obey his commands, rules, and laws that I’m giving you today.”
Just as the Bible says in Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The same Jesus who spoke to the Israelites and promised them all this is still speaking to you today and he is saying when you hear his voice don’t harden your heart (Hebrew 3:8). Let those who have ears, hear (Matthew 11:15). Don’t be a sell-out!
So let us be like Joseph and Jesus, refusing to sell out and remaining faithful to God’s plan. And let us trust that God will reward our faithfulness in ways beyond our wildest dreams.
Even though we traded our birthright for our sins, the Lord’s grace is greater. He forgives us and still welcomes us in.
Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together (discuss, see your options, set things right, settle things),” says the LORD: “Though your sins are bright red, they will become as white as snow. Though they are dark red, they will become as white as wool.”
You may consider reading this blog also:
Focus On Surrounding Yourself With The Right People Always. (mtmchurch.org)
Pastor Nathaniel
