Fruit and Brownies are filling.

Several weeks ago, I was released from my two callings, Relief Society teacher and Webelos Leader, and now I teach the 8 and 9 year olds in Primary. A couple of weeks ago, we had a lesson on Jacob and Esau. I asked each child what they most treasured, wrote it on a piece of paper and handed it to them. Their answers were interesting. The girls listed scriptures, family, the gospel, and their pets. The boys listed computers, Xbox, and Halo. At this point, I had a good chuckle.

Then I asked them to imagine they were starving. I told them I had food in the boxes. Who would trade what was on their paper for food? The computer and Xbox were quickly handed over. None of the girls would trade. I then commented that if you were starving, Halo wouldn't save you. If you died, you would lose your game. Then I mentioned that there were homemade brownies in the boxes. Halo was immediately traded for sustenance. Still, none of the girls would trade for the brownies. They were very rational about the fact that even if they died from starvation, they could keep their families, the scriptures would still be important to them, and they still needed the gospel. One of the boys mentioned that you could eat the pets to survive; that didn't go over very well with the girls.

I was so proud of them for knowing what their priorities should be, and that there are worse things than losing your life. Esau traded his birthright for food. This made me think about my own life. Are there things I am trading for my own birthright? Have I maybe given up something of eternal value for something I want at a particular moment? After the lesson was over, I took them outside to eat their brownies, and they were so cute sitting on the lawn underneath a tree covered in white blossoms. I wish I had taken my camera to church. It really made me stop and think that I need to check myself regularly to make sure that the things I fill my life with, have eternal value, not just a temporary worldly want. I want to be able to eat my brownies underneath the tree of life.