Real Life: The Things of the Spirit
We Are Made for Something More
Romans 8:1-11
Rev. Tim Callow
Preached Sun. July 12th, 2026
John Wesley was convinced that holiness is happiness and happiness is holiness. If you want to really be happy, truly happy, you need to be holy. And if you seek holiness you will, as a consequence, find true happiness. If you think you’re seeking holiness but feel miserable then you’re doing it wrong. If you think you’re happy without seeking holiness then you are self-deceived. Holiness is leading a life in imitation of Jesus, living the sort of life we were made to live. It is a life of love, of grace, of peace, and therefore of happiness. True happiness isn’t found anywhere else.
The rest of the summer we will be focusing on the readings in Romans with holiness and happiness in mind. What is the full, true, real life God has in store for us? How is it that this life leads to happiness?
We heard from Paul this morning, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” What does it mean to set our mind on the flesh? What does Paul mean by flesh? And what, in contrast, is setting our mind on the spirit? And how does setting our minds on the flesh lead to death while setting our minds on the spirit lead to life and peace? In trying to answer these questions I’m going to turn to our Genesis reading this morning concerning Jacob and Esau.
Esau and Jacob were twin brothers born to Isaac and Rebekah. From the moment they were conceived they didn’t get along. Rebekah could feel them fighting inside her belly. Even when they were born Jacob came out clutching Esau’s heel. Rebekah was told the elder would serve the younger, Jacob would be a supplanter. And this morning we hear how Jacob secured the birthright from his elder brother Esau.
Jacob was a homebody. He preferred the quiet life lounging around in the tents. Esau, by contrast, was a wild man. He was a skillful hunter who preferred to be out in the steps. Jacob was smooth and well groomed. Esau was full of red hair. Esau was Isaac’s favorite, and Jacob was Rebekah’s favorite.
We are told that one day Jacob cooking a stew in the camp. Esau came in from the field, doubtless having no luck hunting, absolutely famished. He saw his brother was cooking something and asked for “some of that red stuff.” But the other thing to remember about Jacob is that he was a cunning man. A bit of a trickster. So rather than simply offer his brother some of the stew that they might eat together, he immediately thought of a plan.
“First sell me your birthright.”
You might think Esau would be insulted by this demand. But instead he says, “I am about to die; what use is a birthright to me?”
But Jacob, remember, was clever. He doesn’t give Esau the stew but first demands he swear away his birthright. After all, once Esau has a little bit of the stew he’ll realize he was never near death, it was all an exaggeration, he’s not himself when he’s hungry, and pretend he never offered it up in the first place. But if he makes him to swear Esau will be forced to hold to the sale.
Esau swears his birthright away and is given the bowl of bread and lentil stew. I love the way Genesis describes the scene. “and he ate and drank and rose and went his way.” There is something so base, so animal, so sad about the way Genesis puts it. I imagine he gets the bowl of stew, and begins to wolf it down. He takes a chalice of watered down wine and chugs it. And then he begins to slow down. He starts to realize that all he has is some stew and wine. They say no words. He gets up. He walks away.
“Thus Esau despised his birthright.”
Esau sets his mind on the things of the flesh. He can’t see beyond his most immediate fleshly, animal, desires. He is a hungry, thirsty, lusty, spirited man. And when a desire or passion comes on him he rushes to satisfy it. As the firstborn his birthright ought to be the most precious thing he possesses. The birthright meant he would inherit two thirds of the property when Isaac died. It would give him preeminence over his twin brother. But, instead, he despises it. He sells it away for some red stuff. He can’t help himself. He is enslaved to his hunger. Esau sets his mind on the things of the flesh.
To set your mind on the flesh is death. When Esau drinks, he will be thirsty again. When he eats, he will be hungry again. If he satisfies his anger, he will be angry again. He eats, drinks, rises, and goes his way. And all that leads to death. A life focused on the flesh can lead to momentary satisfaction, but it doesn’t lead to life. It’s a sad existence because we are not made to merely satisfy the desires of the flesh. We are made for the Spirit.
Jacob signifies setting his mind on the things of the Spirit. He has his mind set on an inheritance, the birthright. And he is able to put aside his human, animal, desires in order to achieve it. Do not think Jacob was not hungry. Otherwise why was he making a stew? He knows momentary hunger is worth the great prize of a birthright. Momentary affliction is worth the glory that is to be given to us. With his cunning he can subdue those base desires that he might seek a higher glory.
Paul exhorts us not to put our minds on the things of the flesh. Jesus tells us not to worry about what we will eat or wear, after all God clothes the lilies of the field with adornments greater than those of King Solomon. His eye is on the sparrow and are you not worth more than many sparrows? Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Paul is telling us to do the same. Focus instead on the things of the Spirit. Put your mind to reconciliation and to love. Bear one another’s burdens. Do good. Care for the less fortunate. Share the word of God’s love.
It is in such things that true life is found.